Chapter Seventy-Three: Unexpected Change

My whole body was trembling, for I could feel Chan Shu’s presence fading away. Wang Bing suddenly yanked the dagger from my grasp and, with a vicious force, stabbed down toward my neck. The old witch raised her hands, her withered fingers splaying eerily as she clawed toward my forehead.

All this happened in a flash. I lifted my hands abruptly, gripping Wang Bing’s wrist, my gaze locked on the old witch. I had no chance to retrieve the soul-shaking talisman.

But since the old witch was already close, I resolved that once she drew near enough, I would drain away this strand of her soul!

Terror gripped my heart—what had happened to Chan Shu’s soul fragment?

Beside me, Granny Li’s face was twisted in shock and fury; she was about to raise her talisman against the witch. Wang Bing, without warning, kicked at Granny Li’s chest.

Granny Li, short and stout, was barely taller than Wang Bing’s chest. My expression shifted again, and I quickly lifted my leg to block Wang Bing.

At that very instant, my attention split for a second, and the witch pressed her hands against my temples.

It felt like a heavy blow struck me; my mind blanked out, my consciousness flickered and vanished for a moment.

When I came to, Wang Bing had already kicked Granny Li over. She lay on the ground, clutching her chest, convulsing.

He still held the dagger, pressing it hard against my neck.

I continued to grip his wrist, resisting with all my strength.

But then, I suddenly realized—I could no longer feel my body.

Wang Bing and I remained locked in that tense struggle, but my awareness felt as if it was being wrenched out of my body.

The witch’s hands pressed against my temples, slowly lifting away, and she actually pulled out part of my soul.

Because Granny Li was injured, I hadn’t reacted in time to absorb the witch.

A hint of greed appeared on her face.

She inhaled sharply toward me.

I stared at her, controlling my own soul, and inhaled fiercely as well.

But to my shock, my attempt had no effect. The witch merely swayed, but the suction force she exerted nearly tore me apart.

“You’re a ghost? No, you’re human! You can devour ghosts?” The witch’s voice was chilling, greed blossoming across her face. “I love your scent. But you cannot devour me.”

The sensation of being ripped apart almost blurred my consciousness.

Just as I thought I would perish here, a look of terror flashed across the witch’s face.

In the next instant, she let out a shrill scream. “No—impossible—this is only your human soul?”

It felt as if a hand had grabbed me; the tearing sensation vanished, and my soul returned to its place.

The witch trembled before me, then spun around, trying to flee.

Suddenly, I heard a faint intake of breath.

In a split second, the witch’s body collapsed into a mass of black mist, which darted into my soul.

Only then did I notice—somehow, two new lines appeared on my soul.

A rune floated above my head, and at this moment, one of the lines seemed to shift.

The black mist formed by the witch slipped into the left side of my soul, wriggled twice, then absorbed all the mist. The line slowly returned to its original position.

Though I had devoured this strand of the witch’s soul, I felt no restoration within my own soul.

I understood then—what I could devour was the human soul.

Back then, my mother had only unlocked the line tied to my human soul.

The witch tried to devour me entirely, triggering my mother’s seals.

It seemed that the soul-shaking talisman absorbed only my human soul as well.

At that moment, my soul trembled, and a force pulled me back into my body.

Wang Bing collapsed heavily to the ground.

His eyes were vacant, lifeless, as if he were dead.

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The witch had made him carry her, and now that her soul strand was absorbed by me, even if he wasn’t dead, he wouldn’t last long.

I didn’t believe the witch would be so merciful, or forgo any method to control Wang Bing.

My face pale, body shaking, I quickly opened my shirt at the chest.

Nothing was visible to the naked eye; uneasiness and panic churned inside me as I called out Chan Shu’s name, my voice trembling.

But there was no answer.

I stared at the dagger Wang Bing had dropped on the ground. It had come from the witch’s house, and her soul strand had emerged because it was tampered with. This was no ordinary item.

Chan Shu was only a fragment of a soul—was she destroyed by that stab?

My eyes reddened at the thought.

I kicked Wang Bing aside hard and staggered through the woods nearby, searching.

As I ran, I shouted Chan Shu’s name until my voice was hoarse.

Still, there was no response.

Remorse consumed me—if only that dagger had stabbed me instead, it would have spared Chan Shu.

If I had dodged even a little, she never would have been struck.

Just then, a terrified voice called out, “Xie Yuan! What are you doing?”

The voice drew closer, and a plump figure hurried toward me.

Wang Erjun’s cheeks quivered, his small eyes filled with unease and fear.

“It’s the middle of the night—why are you here? Where’s Granny Li?”

A shock ran through me as I remembered Granny Li’s injury.

I knew nothing about souls. Chan Shu’s soul fragment was almost certainly scattered by the stab.

Would this affect her main soul?

Or was there any chance to remedy it?

My thoughts raced. Before I could speak, Wang Erjun called out in a panic, “Granny!”

He hurried toward the spot where Granny Li had fallen.

I followed after him.

Wang Erjun helped Granny Li up. She was pale, lips purple, barely breathing.

His voice trembled, “Granny, what happened?”

I replied frantically, “Wang Bing kicked her in the chest.”

“She’s suffocating.”

Wang Erjun’s voice was hoarse. He had me support Granny Li, then slapped her back several times.

Granny Li suddenly spat out a mouthful of pitch-black clotted blood.

Then she began coughing violently.

Her purple lips gradually regained color, and her face was no longer so deathly pale.

“Granny, are you alright?” Wang Erjun asked anxiously.

Granny Li weakly called my name.

I quickly replied, “Granny, I’m fine.”

Wang Erjun’s gaze shifted to Wang Bing, his anger fading as his face paled. “Is he dead?”

I caught my breath. “He was carrying the witch, and when she died just now, he ended up like that.”

Wang Erjun’s expression grew more shocked, his eyes wide as he stared at me. “The witch—dead?”

I couldn’t even force a smile, my face ashen as I gritted my teeth. “That wasn’t the whole witch—just a fragment of her soul.”

Granny Li’s face twitched twice; her voice was still weak as she said, “Fat boy, carry me to the witch’s courtyard.”

Wang Erjun’s face blanched, but he still lifted Granny Li onto his back.

My heart pounded—what was Granny Li planning?

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At the same time, I said hoarsely, “Granny, Chan Shu—she was stabbed by Wang Bing’s dagger, and now she’s gone.”

I couldn’t wait for Wang Erjun to leave, so I spoke directly to Granny Li.

Wang Erjun looked confused. “Who’s Chan Shu? Was there someone else here?”

Granny Li’s pupils contracted. “Where’s the dagger—bring it here.”

I pulled the dagger from Wang Bing’s hand.

He remained motionless.

I handed the dagger to Granny Li.

Her expression was grave. After a moment, she said, “This thing is steeped in ghostly energy. If a soul is stabbed, it will be utterly scattered.”

My face went bloodless; my voice trembled uncontrollably. “Granny—so serious? Chan Shu was only a soul fragment—she only emerged as a fragment?”

Granny Li’s pupils contracted again, then she nodded. “In that case, that fragment will be lost, but it won’t affect her main soul. At most, there’ll be some damage. It’s not as severe as being devoured by the peach tree in Hundred House Village.”

My spirits soared and plummeted so much I thought I’d break down, but relief swept over me—at least Chan Shu’s main soul would not be harmed.

But Granny Li suddenly looked at me and sighed. “But child, if that soul fragment came out alone, and has dissipated, all the memories of the time she spent with you are gone. The other soul fragments form her true self.”

I froze.

“We need to go to the witch’s place immediately. Her soul fragment has dissipated—I don’t know what changes might happen there.” Granny Li continued.

Wang Erjun patted my shoulder awkwardly. “Xie Yuan, whatever it is, think about it later. Listen to Granny. And if anyone from the village comes and sees Wang Bing dead here, we’ll be in trouble.”

I didn’t linger, but followed Wang Erjun.

Granny Li’s words left me confused.

If Chan Shu’s soul fragment was unconnected to her other fragments, all memories of her time with me would be gone.

How would her main soul view me then?

Unease gnawed at me, and I feared her soul might be affected by the loss.

On the way to the witch’s house, Wang Erjun explained he had come at night to bring food for me and Granny Li. When he arrived, he saw a middle-aged man and a little girl waiting.

He returned an hour or two later—they were still there. He asked who they were.

They didn’t answer; instead, the man said, “You’re the other one from Hundred House Village?”

Wang Erjun was startled. The man pressed him about where Granny Li might have gone.

He didn’t answer and simply ran off.

Later, he guessed we might be at the ancestral hall and brought food there, only to run into us on the way.

Wang Erjun asked Granny Li who those people were and why they brought up Hundred House Village.

He instinctively felt the man wasn’t a good person.

Granny Li shook her head, telling Wang Erjun not to worry—they had already left.

By then, we had reached the witch’s house.

The house itself was in a strange state: one small section had blue brick walls, while the rest was pitch black.

Over the courtyard gate hung two ghastly white lanterns, flames flickering inside.

From the courtyard came a series of wailing sounds.

What startled me was that, at the threshold of the witch’s house, a pale hand seemed to be reaching out.

That hand was deathly white, gripping the doorstep fiercely.

“Granny—the hand’s crawling out of the house—” Wang Erjun shuddered suddenly.

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