Chapter Sixty-One: The Five Ghosts

As soon as the words fell, Old Master Wang suddenly charged toward the end of the road. Granny Li also hurriedly ran ahead, shouting, "Fat boy! Run faster! Even if you have to kill him here, don't let him die on this Road of Fate Exchange!"

Wang Erjun shuddered, casting a shocked glance at me.

My face was grim as Old Master Wang and Granny Li ran forward without any explanation. Granny Li even urged Wang Erjun to speed up and seemed intent on killing Liu the Mourner.

Liu the Mourner’s suicide must have disastrous consequences.

Wang Erjun was just an ordinary man; upon hearing this, his legs gave out beneath him.

I quickly stepped up to support his arm and whispered, "Don't you dare fall apart now, you fat fool. We could lose our lives here!"

A sense of crisis welled up in me as I dragged Wang Erjun forward at a brisk pace.

He kept trembling, his voice quivering, "Xie Yuan, how did you become so powerful? You drew a single talisman and wiped out so many ghosts. Granny Li and Old Master Wang are so respectful towards you, are you really...?"

"Are you still Xie Yuan?"

He clung tightly to my arm.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Seeing the sweat pouring down his face, I felt a surge of warmth in my heart.

"Don’t worry, you fat idiot, I’m still me. But there are many things I can only explain once we leave Baihu Village."

Relief washed over his face as he punched me hard in the chest. "I thought you were possessed by some ghost! I always felt there was something off about Old Master Wang."

With that, Wang Erjun also made a determined effort to run forward.

Liu the Mourner was still some distance ahead, at least two hundred meters by my estimation.

This road was eerily strange; no matter how hard we tried, a distance that should take a minute or two to cover felt like trudging through a swamp, as if something kept grabbing at our ankles.

By the time we reached the end of the road, Liu the Mourner was already kneeling on the ground. The earth beneath him was drenched in blood, vivid and reeking, the scent of iron thick in the air.

He was utterly dead, his head drooping, mouth slightly open, eyes wide and staring.

His expression was odd, not a trace of pain—almost as though he were smiling.

"Liu the Mourner killed himself. Does that mean he’s abandoned the evil spirits?" Wang Erjun suddenly asked.

I knew that couldn’t be the case. Old Master Wang had first said that this Road of Fate Exchange was likely Liu the Mourner’s ploy to tie our fates to his, so that when he died, one of us would die in his place.

But he hadn’t performed any subsequent ritual on us—just killed himself.

That meant his suicide served some greater purpose.

Old Master Wang’s face was dark as water; suddenly, he kicked Liu the Mourner’s head.

The corpse toppled backward into the pool of blood, its wide-eyed grin chilling in the moonlight.

"You will all die," came a sudden, chilling voice from the blood.

In the next instant, Liu the Mourner’s eyes began to cave in, and his entire body melted into the blood in moments.

Behind us, the laughter of children suddenly rang out.

Turning, we saw several childlike figures running toward us. Each face was ghostly pale, with two spots of rouge on the cheeks, a red dot on the forehead, and blood-red lips.

A single glance sent chills down our spines.

Old Master Wang quickly set down his pack, opened it, and drew out a set of wooden talismans.

All were made of peachwood, inscribed with Daoist spells invoking the Three Pure Ones.

He brandished them at the children, his hands forming seals as he intoned a powerful incantation with thunderous intent:

"By the Three Pure Ones’ might, peachwood subdues the little devils!"

Five peachwood talismans shot out. Those five children were ghosts.

With every few steps, their forms flickered, vanishing and reappearing much closer.

The talismans seemed to have a life of their own, landing almost simultaneously atop each ghost, despite their supernatural speed.

One little ghost suddenly grinned and said, "What an ugly amulet. What a foul smell."

He spat onto the peachwood charm above him.

Before it could take effect, the charm turned pitch black with a soft rip, and fell to the ground.

The other ghosts followed suit; all the talismans were rendered useless.

In a blink, the five ghosts were less than ten meters from us.

From beside Wang Erjun, a little ghost appeared, reaching for his throat with a sinister smile, its voice bright and childish, "Brother, come play with me."

Wang Erjun screamed, drew his butcher’s knife, and slashed at the ghost. The ghost’s smile vanished in terror as it flickered away and reappeared at a distance, looking aggrieved: "Brother, you’re so mean."

Old Master Wang’s face was grim. "These five little ghosts were summoned by Liu the Mourner’s life. They hold official positions in the underworld—Daoist magic is nearly useless. Don’t let them get close, and for heaven’s sake, don’t kill them, or we’ll be in even greater trouble."

Wang Erjun shivered, gripping his knife fiercely.

My own expression darkened. If we couldn’t kill them, we could only be harried and tormented—no wonder Granny Li and Old Master Wang were so desperate to stop Liu the Mourner.

Just then, a cold wind brushed my ear.

I turned quickly.

A little ghost had silently appeared beside me, smiling innocently as he reached for my ear.

But one look at his ghastly face dispelled any illusion that he was a child.

I’d barely absorbed enough of Gray Aunt’s soul earlier and had to stop abruptly. Now, with the ghost so close, I had no other means to resist.

Granny Li had now retreated to Old Master Wang’s side, clearly paying me no heed.

My pupils contracted. I let the sensation in my mind run free and opened my mouth, taking a forceful breath in the ghost’s direction.

This time, it wasn’t as easy as absorbing the villagers’ or Gray Aunt’s soul—a powerful resistance pushed back.

The ghost’s sneer turned instantly to terror.

His voice rose to a piercing shriek, "Zhong Kui!"

The next moment, his body vanished from my side.

When he reappeared, he was at least fifty meters away.

The little ghost beside Wang Erjun also looked startled.

Though he hadn’t seen what I did, the fleeing ghost’s reaction was enough to frighten him. We were only a few meters apart.

He stared at me warily, abandoning his attack on Wang Erjun, and promptly followed the first ghost in flight. The remaining three were still entangling Old Master Wang and Granny Li.

Wang Erjun stared at me, panting and incredulous.

I, too, was stunned, suddenly recalling an old legend.

It was said that Zhong Kui devoured ghosts, and the five little ghosts followed Zhong Kui; they were the Five Plague Spirits, fierce and ruthless, and as underworld-appointed ghosts, they feared nothing.

With two of their number gone, the other three looked uneasy and reluctant—as if they feared me but were loath to return after just arriving in the world.

Two of them gave sharp, screeching cries, as though signaling.

The three hesitated, then vanished as well.

The crisis had come swiftly and vanished just as quickly.

Old Master Wang looked at me, still breathless, but with even deeper respect in his eyes.

Granny Li, on the other hand, seemed lost and bewildered.

I instantly understood: Granny Li had heard what the little ghost shouted, but didn’t know the reason. After all, I hadn’t appeared to swallow any ghosts. She likely didn’t know that Old Master Wang’s master could devour souls.

The four of us regrouped, but before Old Master Wang could speak, a cold, resentful voice rang out: "How is this possible! Xie Yuan, what is it on you that scared away the five little ghosts?"

The voice echoed along the village road.

A swirl of black-red mist rose up, and the ghost of Liu the Mourner appeared at the spot where he had died, glaring at me with venomous hatred.

I clenched my fists, meeting his glare with equal animosity.

"Tonight, you won’t escape," I rasped.

Liu the Mourner’s face twisted with malice as he spat, "I’ve already forsaken my life. Do you think I’d run? You brought her soul here—the little brat—I’ve been waiting for this moment!"

A jolt ran through me as I whirled to look at the soul talisman not far off, still floating in midair.

Beside it, the severed head of a young man missing an ear silently began to rise.

From the head billowed dense black mist, which enveloped the soul talisman.

Gray Aunt’s piercing scream erupted from the talisman.

At the same time, Liu the Mourner’s body dissolved into a jet-black mist and shot toward Old Master Wang.