Chapter Sixty: Trading Lives

As this thought crossed my mind, a surge of resistance rose within my consciousness, and I forcibly halted that instinctual devouring from my soul.

I had already absorbed more than half of the baleful energy.

Gray Auntie’s spirit had been affected as well, growing much weaker.

Yet compared to when she was first summoned, before her resentment had fully erupted, she was still much stronger now.

A sensation of fullness welled up from deep within my soul. Even though I had only taken half a breath from Gray Auntie before stopping, it felt far more comfortable than what I’d experienced with that previous ghost.

Panic now filled Gray Auntie’s eyes. The remaining baleful energy swirled violently around her, and she was on the verge of fleeing.

My expression shifted slightly, for aside from using the Talisman of Thunder, this soul-devouring ability was all I had.

I had no idea how to keep Gray Auntie here.

Persuasion was no longer possible, nor could I bring myself to completely drain her and send her soul scattering.

Just then, Old Master Wang, who had been kneeling on the ground, shakily raised his hand. A streak of blood-red light shot from his palm, flying straight to hover above Gray Auntie’s head.

She trembled, and the baleful energy evaporated instantly. The blood-red light then returned to Old Master Wang, who simultaneously picked up the soul-summoning incense.

All the fragrance drifted into Gray Auntie’s nostrils.

Now, she seemed unchanged from before, as if nothing had happened. Except her eyes, which were full of panic, and beneath that panic, a deep and abiding hatred.

Her spirit was weak now, no different from an ordinary ghost.

Old Master Wang turned to look at me. His body was still trembling, his eyes flickering as he said, “I never thought that, in my lifetime, I’d witness my master devouring souls.”

My heart gave a jolt.

Initially, I’d been uneasy—afraid that Old Master Wang, seeing me absorb ghosts, might suspect my mother had tampered with me.

But the situation had been desperate; I had no other choice. Had I not done so, Old Master Wang would have died.

Yet, his master could also devour souls?

Was this a coincidence, or was there something more?

Before I could speak, Old Master Wang quickly looked back at Gray Auntie, his voice hoarse as he said, “Her baleful energy is completely gone. Though the resentment remains, she can no longer become a fierce ghost unless she absorbs an equal amount of baleful force. She can’t resist the soul-summoning incense, so, willing or not, we must use her to find White Liu and the vengeful ghost.”

“You monster,” Gray Auntie said coldly. “You are not Xie Yuan.”

She turned her gaze to Old Master Wang and continued, “You actually call him ‘master.’ Xie Yuan was killed by you all long ago, wasn’t he?”

Old Master Wang’s face darkened abruptly, and he shouted, “Nonsense!”

The next instant, he strode to Gray Auntie’s side and slapped a talisman onto her forehead.

Her soul was instantly drawn into the talisman, which then dropped into Old Master Wang’s hand.

He turned back to me, his expression a bit unnatural, and said, “She’s just talking nonsense. There are many things you haven’t remembered yet—don’t let her confuse your mind.”

My heart gave another jolt, but then I understood.

From Old Master Wang’s perspective, though I was his master’s reincarnated soul, I clearly hadn’t regained my memories and thus still regarded myself as Xie Yuan. Gray Auntie’s words would naturally arouse my doubts.

But Old Master Wang didn’t know that I already knew everything—I was not that person.

“It’s all right, Grandpa Wang,” I said.

My voice betrayed no trace of any other emotion.

Old Master Wang’s tense gaze visibly eased.

He looked at me with even more respect than before.

Just then, at the threshold of Wang Erjun’s house, Old Lady Li and Wang Erjun hurried over.

Old Lady Li still clutched a peach-wood sword, while sweat dripped from Wang Erjun’s pale face. He carried a sack with a rooster inside on his back and had a butcher’s knife tied at his waist.

Old Lady Li’s face was grave, her eyes tinged with surprise as she asked, “Such heavy baleful and resentful energy just now—did you encounter White Liu and that vengeful ghost?”

Clearly, she had been setting up a formation, hiding my mother’s corpse.

They must have rushed out sensing the eruption of Gray Auntie’s energy.

Old Master Wang shook his head and raised the talisman, glancing at me first, giving me a look before explaining, “Just now, Xie Yuan summoned Gray Auntie’s spirit. But after she spoke of certain matters, her resentment and baleful energy erupted. I wounded her soul before she became a fierce ghost, then subdued her.”

Old Lady Li’s expression shifted, then softened.

She frowned at Old Master Wang, seemingly wanting to say something, but after a moment, she sighed, “She was pitiful in life and no less so in death. Her resentment was indeed heavy, but when we left, she seemed clear-headed and did not become a fierce ghost. To end up like this now—White Liu must be involved.”

It never occurred to Old Lady Li that Gray Auntie’s transformation had anything to do with my father.

Old Master Wang nodded, “This soul-capturing talisman can now be used to find White Liu and the vengeful ghost. When it’s over, we’ll perform rites to release her.”

A sigh welled up in my heart.

Now, Old Master Wang wouldn’t let Gray Auntie out.

Even if she would not cooperate, he had also hidden my abilities from Old Lady Li, so he would never let her find out.

“Is the concealment spell finished?” Old Master Wang changed the subject.

Old Lady Li nodded, “It’s done.”

At that moment, Wang Erjun gaped and stammered nervously, “My house... it’s gone...”

My eyelids twitched. Sure enough, a mist was slowly spreading over Wang Erjun’s courtyard, and within a few breaths, the house had disappeared, leaving only the darkness of night.

“Ghosts dare not enter, and people cannot see. We’re going to find White Liu; he can’t break the formation here. I suspect he failed to capture the ‘yin-born child’ and realized Xie Yuan’s mother’s corpse was special. He must have tried to use her corpse’s power—the blood bowl earlier was probably his doing,” Old Lady Li said gravely.

Old Master Wang nodded. “He’s just a rat in a dark corner—he can’t do much.”

He glanced at Wang Erjun. “Don’t worry, chubby boy, your house is still there. It’s just much safer like this.”

With that, he raised his hand and began to draw on the talisman that held Gray Auntie’s soul.

I couldn’t make out what he was drawing.

But in the next instant, the soul talisman floated up of its own accord.

I could vaguely see a shadow holding the talisman and walking ahead.

Old Lady Li whispered for us to follow.

Wang Erjun hurried after, his face still full of fear.

It seemed that the ghosts he’d hacked down on the mountain had drained all his resentment.

I was about to step forward too when I suddenly heard a faint sigh in my ear. “Xiao Yuan, bring her as well. Mother would like to see her.”

I froze, glancing toward my house’s gate. My mother had not appeared, and that voice faded after just that one sentence.

Old Master Wang and the others had already gone on ahead. I quickly followed them.

Now, I felt my mind brimming with energy. All my earlier exhaustion was gone, and I felt more alive than ever. I soon caught up with Old Master Wang.

But both he and Old Lady Li now looked deeply troubled.

Only then did I notice that on either side of the village road we traveled, spaced at intervals, were three sticks of incense and a red candle.

A few steps farther, a foul stench assaulted my nose.

A villager’s corpse hung from a crooked little tree, tongue lolling grotesquely.

The corpse’s face, hands, and feet were covered in chilling blotches.

A few more steps, and a body lay sprawled across the road.

Yet it seemed not quite dead, still twitching and convulsing slightly.

Wang Erjun shuddered in terror. “How can this be? None of this was here when we came by before!”

Old Master Wang’s voice was hoarse as he intoned, “Guarded road of corpses, ghosts embracing trees, bloodied well, life-swapping spell.”

“We didn’t notice before—once we stepped onto this path, it was too late. This is a road for exchanging lives. White Liu knows we’re coming for him and knows he can’t escape, so he set this up.”

“He wants to swap lives with one of us. Kill him, and one of us will die.”

My face changed dramatically, and Wang Erjun blanched, “Then we can’t kill him? This trick is too vicious!”

Old Master Wang narrowed his eyes, “The life-swapping spell isn’t so easily done. For it to work, blood must be spilled on this road.”

“Careful—don’t step on anything sharp.”

“These corpses could reanimate at any time. Stay close to me—don’t stray.”

At that moment, I could just make out, at the end of the road, some tables and chairs set up.

White Liu was kneeling on the ground, seeming to kowtow in our direction.

A chill ran through my heart. I feared this road was not as simple as Old Master Wang thought.

If he could see it at a glance, surely White Liu would know we’d see through it.

Why would he deliberately use a useless spell?

My thoughts raced, and I rasped, “Grandpa Wang, Granny, White Liu is over there, kowtowing toward us.”

Old Master Wang’s face changed. “You can see the end of the road?”

My heart skipped. Could it be that Old Master Wang and Old Lady Li couldn’t see it?

Before I could answer, Old Master Wang’s pupils contracted sharply, “Did you see clearly? How many times did he kowtow, and in which directions?”

“Three times to the front, once to the left, twice to the right,” I blurted without thinking.

In my vision, White Liu now stood, slashing open his wrist. Blood poured forth. How could a living person bleed so much?

My scalp tingled with terror.

“White Liu—he’s cut his wrist! So much blood! He’s killing himself!”