Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Without the He couple following them, the three of them moved much faster. But just as they were nearing Building Nine, they saw the Red-Robed Judge suddenly collapse to its knees. Thick streams of black water poured from the gaping hole in its chest, flowing like a steady stream from beneath its feet all the way out to the front of Building Nine.

The hungry ghosts that had been hiding somewhere caught the scent and swarmed out all at once, like huge swarms of flies and insects, pouncing on it with frantic eagerness. They lay on the ground, greedily lapping it up. Because there were so many of them and so little black water, they piled on top of one another, quickly forming a wall of flesh up ahead.

"Holy shit, what the hell is that black water? These ghost children are like flies drawn to shit."

After being repeatedly thrashed in this ghost domain, Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang felt their mental fortitude had greatly improved, but seeing the dense swarm of ghost children still made their skin crawl.

Yan He took out all his talismans and carefully observed the hungry ghosts. Seeing that all their attention was fixed on the black water, he breathed a small sigh of relief and whispered, "Let's go around them. Be careful not to alert them."

The three of them, carrying the unconscious He Jiaqi, carefully made their way around the wall of ghost children, preparing to enter Building Nine through an opening on the other side. The entire building was now full of holes like a sieve, barely recognizable as its original self—any opening would do to slip through.

But just as they were taking their detour, a sizzling sound came from behind them. It was like meat being placed on a red-hot iron griddle, accompanied by a heavy, pungent smell spreading through the air.

That smell was hard to describe as either fragrant or foul—it was so intense it was physically nauseating.

All three turned around simultaneously and saw the ghost children stacked in layers beginning to melt from the bottom up. Their pale, bluish-white bodies went from clearly defined to blurred, gradually merging together until they became thick, black liquid that dissolved into the black water on the ground.

The continuous sizzling sound was the sound of them melting.

The ghost children on top, however, paid it no mind. They immediately took the place of those below, eagerly lapping up the black water that now contained the melted ghost children.

Then the whole thing repeated itself.

This time, not just Wen Dajiang and Wei Yao, but even the seasoned Yan He felt sick to his stomach. His brow was furrowed tightly—this ghost domain was indeed extremely strange, containing many things he had never seen, or even heard of.

For example, the ghost domain itself hidden within the residential building undetected, the man-eating Red-Robed Judge, the unnaturally large hungry ghosts that had never been detected, and the eerie black water that could dissolve hungry ghosts.

While they stood stunned, the massive wall of flesh collapsed and melted in an instant, completely merging into the black water.

And the previously still black water, after absorbing the hungry ghosts, seemed to come alive as if it had become sentient. The viscous liquid squirmed and crawled like slime, slowly flowing back toward the Red-Robed Judge.

Yan He glanced toward the Red-Robed Judge and instructed, "Let's hurry. Don't touch any of this black water."

Perhaps due to Yan He's serious expression, the atmosphere grew tense. Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang also toned down their exaggerated expressions and nodded, carefully following behind him.

The three of them went around the black water and entered Building Nine.

Meanwhile, Xu Muchan, who was gorging himself inside the Red-Robed Judge's chest cavity, seemed to sense something. He sat up straight and turned to look at the black water flowing toward the Red-Robed Judge.

There seemed to be countless voices speaking within the black water, a chaotic murmur that was hard to make out. But the longer he listened, the more it sounded like someone was calling out to him.

Xu Muchan, as if curious or drawn to the black water, tossed away the scraps in his hand, jumped down from the Red-Robed Judge's chest, and walked barefoot toward the black water. He cocked his head and stared at it.

After a moment, he hesitantly reached out his long fingernails, as if wanting to touch—

But just as he was about to make contact with the surface, a voice inexplicably spoke in his mind: "Stay away from the black river. It's dangerous."

That voice sounded familiar. Who was it?

Xu Muchan scratched his head, unable to recall for the moment, but at the same time, he forgot about touching the black water.

He looked warily at the stream of black water that had split off and flowed toward his feet and immediately took a big step back.

But when he retreated, the black water followed, and at the same time, he seemed to catch a tempting smell.

Xu Muchan sniffed the air, growing even more vigilant. This time, he turned and left without looking back.

After eating his fill, Xu Muchan drifted aimlessly through Building Nine. He felt like he was forgetting something, but whenever he tried to remember, nothing came to him.

Passing by a shattered full-length mirror, he suddenly stopped and stared at his reflection.

His clothes were filthy, wounds on his deathly pale skin gaped open with the flesh curling back, black liquid from the Red-Robed Judge smeared across his body, and long black hair reaching his waist hung messily behind him, strands plastered to his cheeks. He looked like a total mess.

As if not recognizing himself, Xu Muchan leaned closer to the mirror, a flicker of confusion finally showing in his pitch-black eyes.

Who's that?

The person in the mirror mirrored his movements, leaning forward, face pressed close to the glass. On the pointed, oval face, pitch-black eyes were filled with bewilderment.

This looks like me.

After staring at the mirror for a long time, Xu Muchan realized.

But the next moment, he smashed the already-broken mirror to pieces in a fit of anger.

So ugly. That's not me.

Xu Muchan stepped barefoot over the broken glass, satisfied, and continued on his way.

He didn't remember where he'd come from, and he had no destination. He drifted like a lost soul until a group of people blocked his path.

The leader, holding a Coin Sword, stared at him in disbelief and called his name: "Xu Muchan?"

Xu Muchan cocked his head, staring at him blankly.

Yan He and the other two were just as shocked. Although the Red-Robed Judge appeared to be dead, they still had no idea what had fought it and where it had gone. So after entering Building Nine, they crept along, trying not to make any noise.

Xu Muchan was nowhere to be found either. They didn't dare call out for him, so they could only stay alert, investigating any sign of movement they detected.

Then they encountered Xu Muchan, who was wandering around.

At first, they didn't recognize him. The figure gave off a heavy yin aura, with long hair hanging down to the waist and skin so pale it had no trace of color. Walking barefoot through Building Nine, he looked exactly like a vengeful spirit from an old horror movie, out at midnight to kill.

And this vengeful spirit was very likely the one that had killed the Red-Robed Judge.

The three immediately went on full alert. Yan He pulled out his last three concealment talismans, slapped them on, and carefully hid to the side.

They had planned to wait for this vengeful spirit to leave before making their escape, but the figure turned around at that very moment.

Yan He got a clear look at the face.

Although the pupils were pure black like those of ghosts and spirits, and the short hair had become long, he recognized him in an instant—it was Xu Muchan.

Perhaps because of the shock, Yan He shot to his feet and called out.

"Is Xu Muchan possessed?" Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang peeked out from behind Yan He, cautiously sizing up their suddenly unfamiliar classmate.

"I don't know, but he looks very dangerous right now. You two wait here. If things go south, get out of here—don't worry about me."

Yan He couldn't explain it, but his gut told him the person before him was definitely Xu Muchan.

Since they had found him, they couldn't just abandon him. He put away his Coin Sword and stepped forward, putting on a look of delighted relief—"finally found you"—while secretly observing Xu Muchan's expression, approaching him inch by inch.

And Xu Muchan indeed stood still, his pitch-black eyes occasionally moving to follow Yan He's movements, as if studying him back.

Yan He's palms were sweating. He discreetly wiped them on his pants and spoke to Xu Muchan, trying to sound casual: "Xu Muchan, where did you go? We've been looking for you for ages."

Xu Muchan blinked and finally spoke: "Do I know you?"

Yan He smiled and finally walked up to him, saying, "Yeah, don't you remember? We got dragged into the ghost domain together, and later you got separated from us..."

Xu Muchan listened intently, waiting for more.

But there was no more. Yan He kept rambling at him, just to get close, and then, in a flash, he slapped a spirit-repelling talisman onto Xu Muchan's forehead.

Nervous, he slapped the talisman on extra hard, and Xu Muchan's head was pushed back sharply, then he straightened back up, looking confused. The yellow spirit-repelling talisman stuck firmly to his forehead, with no reaction at all.

Yan He: "..."

Xu Muchan raised his hand, tore off the talisman, looked at it curiously, then tossed it aside, his eyes still fixed on Yan He, waiting for him to continue.

But Yan He, under the stare of those pitch-black eyes, felt his entire body stiffen and freeze, and could only manage to move one hand behind his back and gesture frantically at Wen Dajiang and Wei Yao behind him.

Run!

Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang saw it. After wrestling with whether to run or not, Wei Yao told Wen Dajiang to hand over the Five Thunder Talisman: "You take He Jiaqi and run first. I'll go save Taoist Master Yan."

With that, he didn't wait for Wen Dajiang to move. He reached straight into the pocket of Wen Dajiang's school pants and, sure enough, found the Five Thunder Talisman. Clutching the two talismans in his hand, he said, "Stop gawking and go!" and turned to run toward Xu Muchan.

He was sure this fierce ghost looked exactly like Xu Muchan but definitely wasn't him.

He rushed up close and shouted to Yan He, "I'm coming to help, Taoist Master Yan!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he hurled the two Five Thunder Talismans at Xu Muchan—

Then Wei Yao grabbed Yan He and bolted, with the rumbling sound of thunder behind them. Wei Yao glanced back at the flashing lightning, feeling that rush of having beaten the bad guy and saved the world.

The Five Thunder Talisman packed a punch—thunder was still roaring. Yan He was shouting something in his ear, sounding frantic.

Wei Yao's hero moment finally wore off, and he heard Yan He yell, "The Five Thunder Talisman doesn't work on him! You pissed him off! I'll hold him off—get out of here!"

Wei Yao: ?!

He turned back and saw a figure walking out of the flashing lightning. Lightning crackled over his skin, whipping his waist-length hair around, but it didn't faze him one bit.

"Damn, Taoist Master, even your talismans don't work?!" Wei Yao wailed in despair.

Yan He didn't have time for jokes. He gripped his Coin Sword with both hands, eyes locked and ready.

Wei Yao wasn't about to play hero again. He turned and ran without arguing.

But Xu Muchan was after him. Wei Yao didn't even see him move—the next second, a hand was around his throat.

As the dizzy, suffocating feeling of being choked hit him, Wei Yao thought miserably, Ah, this feels way too familiar.

I've been choked so many times now.

Xu Muchan looked over the person in his grip. Honestly, he hadn't really followed what Yan He and Wei Yao were doing, so he definitely wasn't angry.

He grabbed Wei Yao because the guy was wearing the exact same clothes as him.

A white short-sleeve shirt with the school crest embroidered on it, and black pants with blue-and-white diagonal stripes down the sides.

This was the Nanming school uniform, but Xu Muchan didn't remember it at all. He just knew his own clothes were filthy, and here was a clean set right there.

So without a second thought, he stripped Wei Yao's clothes and pants off, took them, satisfied, and walked off.

Wei Yao, left in just his boxers, stood there dumbfounded, with a mix of outrage and embarrassment he didn't dare voice.

Once he was sure that weird ghost was finally gone, Yan He hurried over, helped him up, and tried to console him: "Hey, at least you only lost your clothes—better than losing your skin, right?"

Wei Yao felt a little better, hunched his shoulders, and got up to leave with him.

Xu Muchan went back to where he'd smashed the mirror. He'd changed into the clean clothes and leaned over to check his reflection in the broken mirror.

With clean clothes on, he looked way better. He nodded, pleased.

Just as he was about to leave, a hand suddenly covered his eyes. At the same time, a cold, yin-chilling aura pressed in behind him, and a massive figure loomed over him, boxing him in completely.

Xu Muchan's hackles went up instantly. He yanked the hand away and spun around, baring his fangs in a fierce warning.

Wei Xilou took in the boy, so completely changed, and his own aura darkened. In his fury, the edges of his pitch-black soul form churned unsteadily.

He'd only been gone a few days, figuring that as long as Achan kept the Mountain God Amulet on, nothing bad would happen.

But he never thought the danger would hit him this time. If those things in the tomb hadn't held him up, he'd have sensed Achan's call way sooner.

The human body was way too limiting. He'd had no choice but to ditch the body and rush to find him.

And what did he find? A grimy little cat hissing and clawing at him.

Wei Xilou shifted into a human-like form and waved him over: "Achan, come here."

Xu Muchan didn't listen. He even backed away a cautious step. This thing's aura was even stronger than the Red-Robed Judge's, and it gave off a faint, tempting scent.

He sniffed and swallowed without meaning to.

He was hungry again, it seemed.

He was trying to decide whether to bolt or grab a bite first.

Wei Xilou saw the hunger in his eyes and let out a low chuckle. He reined in the overflowing yin energy, offered up the most vulnerable, tempting part of his neck to the little cat, and waved again: "Achan, come here."

The scent seemed to get even stronger. Xu Muchan finally gave in and pounced.

Wei Xilou caught him, letting him sink his teeth into his neck and his sharp nails into his shoulder.

Achan, warped by the ghostification, was ravenous. His limbs locked tight around him, fangs sinking deep, throat gulping greedily with wet, gurgling sounds.

Wei Xilou hitched his hips up a little, holding him like a kid, stroking his long black hair with one hand, and let out a heavy breath: "Achan, slow down."

Xu Muchan ignored him, burying his whole face in his neck.

From a distance, they looked like lovers tangled up in a tender embrace.

Wei Xilou carried him and finally spotted the Mountain God Amulet in a corner, wrapped in a school jacket.

"It's your big brother's fault."

Wei Xilou set the boy down on the rubble, and behind him, several pale arms reached out, cocooning Xu Muchan completely.

Xu Muchan was like a butterfly lured by nectar, lost in the sweetness, with no idea it was a trap.

When he was finally full and pulled his fangs out, a faint flush seemed to bloom on his deathly pale face.

But the next second, when he found himself pinned by those arms, he started struggling warily again.

But this time, the hunter and the prey had switched places.

Now he was the prey.

Countless arms pressed him down, and Wei Xilou reached out to cover his pitch-black eyes, putting the Mountain God Amulet back around his neck.

"Be good, Achan. I'll take you with me from now on, wherever I go."

He had been ghostified for too long, and the amulet would take time to take effect. But Xu Muchan's struggles were clearly growing weaker. He was like a cat forcibly rolled onto its back, staring with wide, dark eyes, his face wearing a dazed, drunken expression.

Wei Xilou's fingers traced along his cheek, sliding down his slender, elongated neck, but paused strangely upon reaching the collar of his school uniform.

Then he leaned down and sniffed at the youth, catching a scent that did not belong to him.

His expression, which had softened, instantly turned sinister. A host of pale arms moved at once, shredding the foreign clothing to pieces, before he finally held the youth in his arms with satisfaction.

"Let's go home."