Ghost Stories Series 10

Chapter 7

"No, Curry, they are the Corpse Whisperers' henchmen! I'm the only survivor!" Annie cried out as she opened the door.

Looking at the sincere emotions on both sides, Curry was confused. Who was telling the truth? Although he couldn't tell, Curry knew for sure that one of them must have become a victim of the Corpse Whisperer. To find the correct answer to this dilemma, reasoning alone was no longer enough; he could only place his hopes on Little B, hoping it could discern who the Corpse Whisperer's henchmen were.

Perhaps the pungent smell of disinfectant in the hospital affected its sense of smell, or perhaps the large number of corpses in the hospital confused its senses. Little B hesitated, sniffing hard but undecided, unsure of which way to go.

“Curry, I won’t lie to you! This is the X-ray room. The corpses are afraid to go near the radiation source, which is how I escaped! Please, come in quickly!” Annie pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

Was this genuine emotion? Curry himself couldn't say for sure. "But perhaps the truth lies in the hands of a few! Besides, with Little B around, even if Annie is a zombie, she'll be easy to deal with on her own!" he thought. So, he went inside.

Anne immediately slammed the heavy iron gate shut and bolted it. Then, leaning against the gate, she slowly slid down to the ground, let out a long sigh, and murmured, "Thank goodness you listened to me, otherwise..."

Before she could finish speaking, a thunderous pounding sound came from outside the door, accompanied by shouts: "Boss, you can't believe her!" "She's dead!" "Boss, come out quickly!"

“They dare not come in, because there is something here that they are truly afraid of…” Anne, supporting herself against the wall, slowly stood up. Curry hesitated, unsure whether to help her, as he didn't fully trust her yet. Anne looked up at Curry, not blaming him, but sighing, “The Corpse Whisperers have destroyed our most precious things—life, emotions, trust… Now even I have to doubt them from time to time, even when facing my most trusted companions…”

These words struck a chord with Corey. Could one of the Corpse Whisperers say such a thing? Lifeless, stripped of genuine emotions, even the closest of friends could no longer be trusted. Yes, the Corpse Whisperer was terrifying; his terror lay in robbing people of their most precious possessions.

“If we want to regain our former peace, if we want to enjoy the happiness of being human, then we have to be strong and defeat the Corpse Whisperers! So… I’m no longer afraid.” Annie’s eyes welled up with tears. “Come, come inside with me.” She led Curry into the room, where there was a partition. On one side was a huge X-ray machine, and on the other side were the equipment the doctor used to operate it. “We were ambushed as soon as we came in… Our elite team was no match for them. Automatic weapons were no match for the hands of corpses… I was forced into this room, but unexpectedly, I was rescued and discovered their weakness to X-rays. But the others weren’t so lucky…” Annie said mournfully.

“As long as there are survivors, the torch of hope will be passed on, and any sacrifice is worthwhile…” Curry pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly as he comforted her. He felt Annie’s frail body trembling. “Don’t be afraid, in my arms, there’s nothing to fear… Forget all the unpleasant things, I will do everything in my power to reclaim what we’ve lost!” Annie stopped trembling and began to sob softly. Curry gently stroked her hair and told her the story of the Corpse Whisperer preserved in the library beneath the lake of blood. After he finished, Curry took Annie’s hand and said with genuine emotion, “The Corpse Whisperer is terrifying, but he is not invincible. Humanity defeated him long ago with its wisdom and courage!”

Anne shook off his hand and hid in a corner by herself. She was crying, crying bitterly.

"What's wrong?" Curry asked with concern.

"Don't come any closer!" Annie yelled.

"Why?"

"Ah!" Annie suddenly screamed in extreme pain and collapsed to the ground. She had plunged her hand into her chest and ripped out a bloody heart. Strangely, the still-beating heart was green!

"You!" Curry stood there dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning. He felt a wave of dizziness, his body swayed, and he almost fainted. He couldn't believe that Annie was the one being controlled by the Corpse Whisperer.

Despite losing her heart, Annie could still manage to speak: "Listen to me, Curry... I've found the true face of the Corpse Whisperer. He's not what you think... Cheng Xin inherited the 'Corpse Whisperer's Dictionary' and became the new Corpse Whisperer... A day ago, I went to see him, but unexpectedly... He didn't kill me; instead, he wanted to use my body as bait to lure you in."

Curry was dealt another blow. He hadn't expected that it wasn't the original Corpse Whisperer returning from the Corpse Forest, but rather a new Corpse Whisperer being born from among humans.

"You saw it too, he stole my heart, that fiery red heart, and used a green heart under a curse to control me, waiting for the right moment to strike you... Unfortunately, he underestimated human emotions. When you held me in your arms, your true feelings brought back my real self... Be careful... There are no living people here anymore... They are part of a trap, to make you trust me more... They are also insurance, in case you don't choose me..." It turns out, the Corpse Whisperer used a cursed heart to create puppets that were extremely similar to living people, with language and expressions indistinguishable from ordinary people, yet controlled by the Corpse Whisperer. No wonder Little B felt something was amiss, yet couldn't be sure if they were demons. The cunning Corpse Whisperer had already arranged everything; no matter what Corey chose, it was a dead end. However, he underestimated human emotions and didn't anticipate the existence of the Exorcist.

"No matter how difficult it is, I will defeat the Corpse Whisperer and show you!" Corey choked up, squatted down, and tightly grasped Annie's hand.

A smile appeared on Anne's pale face, and tears of happiness glistened in the corners of her eyes: "Curry, I can't go on. You have to be strong and live on... You said you would take back what we've lost..."

"I promise you, I will!" Curry hugged Annie tightly again, his heart filled with immense pain.

“Curry, I hope you can remember me… Just being able to live in your memory is enough for me… I… love you…” Annie’s voice gradually weakened, and her body began to grow cold. The Corpse Whisperer’s spell had finally failed.

Curry bit his lip and gently laid Annie's body flat on the ground. He slowly stood up and roared, vowing, "I won't cry! I will transform this sorrow, anger, pain, and hatred into power! I will avenge you, Corpse Whisperer!"

14. Ward off evil spirits

Without further hesitation, Curry raised his left hand and aligned the red cross-shaped gem on the Sirius Ring on his ring finger with the same pattern on Little B's forehead.

"Broken seal!"

With a shout, a beam of red light shot from the ring towards Little B's forehead. The cross-shaped mark was gradually devoured by the red flames.

It vanished. A ring of brilliant light burst forth from Little B, and its body expanded rapidly, growing to the size of a lion in the blink of an eye. Its head resembled a lion's, with a long, pure white mane cascading from its forehead to the back of its head, exuding majesty; its body was like that of a tiger and a lion, its entire body covered in curly black mane; its limbs were strong, it had wings on its back, and a long, curled tail, displaying extraordinary bearing. It no longer cowered, but strode forward with its head held high, looking eager to try.

"This...this is the true form of the evil-repelling beast?" Curry hadn't expected Little B to be so strong and powerful in its original form. But it was still Little B after all, and it remained affectionate towards Curry. Even though it had become so huge, it still stuck out its big tongue full of barbs and licked Curry's face until it hurt, and even gave him a face full of saliva as an extra bonus.

"Thank you... for taking care of me all this time..." it said in its still somewhat broken language. Memories passed down through generations, along with the blood of the exorcist, awakened, and Little B's potential began to unfold. "Dad... Dad, I don't know if I should call you that..." Little B said, looking at him.

"Whatever, you can just call me Curry." Curry smiled, patted Little B's large and sturdy body affectionately, and felt a fatherly feeling. "No matter what you look like, you will always be the same in my eyes. I treat you as my own child, and I also treat you as my forever friend."

Little B licked Cori and said, "In my eyes... you've always been like a loving father... To prevent her body from being used by the Corpse Whisperers again, let me bury her with flames!" At this moment, its language ability matured rapidly, gradually approaching perfection. However, unlike its appearance, its voice was still quite childish, like a human boy, because it was only three years old.

Curry nodded slowly. Although it was painful to watch his former companions turn to ashes, the dead should always return their remains to nature, especially with the existence of corpse whisperers who coveted the corpses.

Little B began to attempt its first spell. Its fur turned fiery red, then transformed into flames, burning fiercely—this was the elemental spell "Born Flame." Little B and Curry exchanged a glance, then opened their mouths and spat out a burst of flames, engulfing Annie's corpse.

"Burn my remains, in the blazing holy fire, what joy is there in life, what sorrow in death? For the sake of good and the elimination of evil, for the sake of light alone, joy and sorrow, all return to dust. Pity the people of this world, for they suffer so much! Pity the people of this world, for they suffer so much!" Watching Annie gradually turn to ashes, for some reason, the scripture that the Ming Cult members in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" recited before their deaths suddenly surfaced in Corey's mind and lingered there, refusing to leave. For justice and righteousness, for a better future, each of his comrades sacrificed themselves without regret, yet the Corpse Whisperers still enslaved their corpses, forcing them to serve a force they would fight for even at the cost of their lives. Thinking of his former comrades still controlled by the Corpse Whisperers outside the door, and recalling their voices and smiles, Corey felt as if a huge boulder had struck his heart, and the pain lingered for a long time.

"Unforgivable! Unforgivable!" Heartbroken, he pounded his fist against the wall, letting out a beast-like roar.

Just then, a group of people burst through the door. It turned out that what Annie had said at the beginning was a fabrication; they weren't afraid of X-rays at all.

"Those who disobey the Corpse Whisperer will only face death!" "After you die, you can join us!" "Yeah, yeah, hahaha!" The group's faces were contorted as they spoke arrogantly. As puppets manipulated by the Corpse Whisperer, they were like primitive robots, working only according to pre-set programs. In their program, it was time to confront Curry, to let him know the truth, and to plunge him into extreme agony; they wouldn't care about Annie's life or death, nor would they pay attention to the existence of the Exorcist, nor would they feel the fear they should have felt. The Corpse Whisperer wasn't a god; he hadn't anticipated that Annie's card had already failed, nor had he anticipated that the "double insurance" was actually ineffective.

Curry sighed and said slowly, "Do it, Little B." Perhaps, letting his former comrades be freed by Little B's exorcising fire was the last gift Curry could give them.

Little B rushed forward and used the flames from its mouth and body to do one last thing for them.

In a daze, Curry seemed to see his former comrades smiling through their tears in the air. Even the most hard-hearted person would be moved at this moment, let alone the ever-sentimental Curry. So, he broke his vow not to cry, and a single, crystal-clear tear welled up in his eye. On the other side, Randall kicked open the door and swaggered into the unpredictable hospital with Ace in tow.

The Corpse Whisperers had assigned the controlled Delta squad to guard the gate, expecting that their advanced weaponry would allow them to "fight fire with fire" and inflict heavy losses on the military and police attacking from the front. However, Randall played by his own rules, catching them completely off guard. As they hastily raised their weapons to fight back, Randall laughed, "Too slow," and circled around them, simultaneously unleashing his fists and feet, taking them down one by one. Randall wasn't worried about them getting up; although this was the first time he had used his "Corpse-Subduing Palm" technique in actual combat, its power was undeniable. Lately, he had been forced to stay obediently in his room reading all day, complaining that he was "going to die of boredom," and had been looking for an opportunity to show off his skills!

After his initial demonstration, Randall was quite pleased with himself. Ace, on the other hand, was furious and yelled in displeasure at not having even had a chance to show off his skills.

“Don’t worry, we’ll need you a lot more later!” Randall comforted it. Ace, however, turned its head away in a huff, pretending to ignore him. Seeing that Ace, a warrior who was always absolutely obedient to orders, could also throw a tantrum, Randall chuckled: “Has it been influenced by Little B?” However, considering that Ace had always been well-behaved, even somewhat cold, perhaps a little liveliness wouldn’t be a bad thing? The optimistic Randall didn’t care about any of this.

They stormed upstairs and then fought their way back down to the basement, killing the controlled corpses while searching for the Corpse Whisperer, but to no avail, until they reunited with a melancholy Curry.

"Oh, it's only been a short time, why are you like this? Don't be so depressed, okay? A gloomy mood is contagious to innocent people." Randall, unaware of what had happened, still laughed and tried to tease Curry.

“All my companions are…” Curry said in a low voice.

“I’m sorry, I should have thought of that…” Randall immediately understood what Curry had encountered and couldn’t help but feel apologetic.

Curry shook his head: "You don't need to apologize... They should also have this awareness, coming here with the belief that they are ready to sacrifice themselves for righteousness at any time. I also learned an important piece of information—the true identity of the Corpse Whisperer is not what we expected. He is Dr. Cheng Xin from the list."

"Possessed?"

"No, he obtained the 'Dictionary of Corpse Language' mentioned in the records. Perhaps he couldn't resist the temptation, or perhaps that was his true intention..." After all this, Curry had come to a profound realization: the human heart is the most unfathomable thing in the world. Greed, jealousy, deception... all sorts of evil thoughts are born from the heart; and love, courage, trust, dreams... all sorts of beautiful emotions also originate from the heart. Perhaps, rather than being unfathomable, it's more accurate to say it's terrifyingly deep...

"Perhaps..." Randall said with a wry smile, as he also deeply understood this.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Ace took off running towards the roof. Randall and Curry exchanged a glance, nodded, and quickly gave chase.

Using the momentum, Ace leaped into the air, curling his body into a ball, and smashed open the door leading to the rooftop.

"Would the Corpse Whisperer be stupid enough to run to the rooftop? That's a dead end, and it's also a battlefield where snipers are active!" Randall said as he ran.

However, it turns out that the Corpse Whisperer was not stupid, but had another plan.

Cheng Xin was indeed standing outside, wearing a brown trench coat and carrying a blue thread-bound book under his arm. He coldly watched the bullets whizzing past him, and even when the bullets pierced his body, he didn't utter a sound.

"Could it be that he also..." Just as Randall was wondering, the sound of flapping wings suddenly came from the sky. A dark, heavy cloud was approaching, almost reaching the rooftop. It was a flock of crows, with a huge pterosaur skeleton wrapped around it in the middle—it seemed that the Corpse Whisperer's Corpse Whisper wasn't limited to controlling human corpses; even controlling fossilized corpses was no problem for them.

"You're late, Curry! But I admire you for going to such lengths. But you're still centuries away from capturing me!" Cheng Xin sneered, a sinister glint in his eyes behind his glasses. He laughed loudly, carrying his book, and strode confidently toward the descending pterosaur, his arrogant demeanor making him seem like a demon king leading his people to conquer the world.

“Who do you think you are? You’re not the real Corpse Whisperer from ‘The Corpse Whisperer’s Story,’” Randall said sarcastically, hoping to provoke Cheng Xin.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Xin was not fooled, or rather, he was excessively calm: "That's right! The real Corpse Whisperers are still sleeping in the Corpse Forest, waiting for someone to awaken them. The world now belongs to the one who inherits the 'Corpse Whisper Dictionary'. No matter what you think, I will also call myself a 'Corpse Whisperer' because I possess this power."

"No matter what power you possess, I will defeat you! For my promise, for avenging the innocent souls who perished and the heroic comrades who sacrificed their lives!" Corey roared. Master Guo's dying words, Annie's dying promises, and the tragic fate of countless people in the building—all intertwined, converging into a tremendous force. Regret, hatred, sorrow, anger, resentment… the power emanating from Corey made even the Corpse Whisperer feel a sense of fear; his face twitched, and he took a step back.

Little B seemed to sense the turbulent emotions surging within Curry's heart. It roared to the sky, venting its pent-up frustration.

The sky, too, seemed to be assimilated by this emotion. Dark clouds filled the sky, and after a howling wind, several flashes of lightning streaked across the heavens, followed by a deafening roar of thunder.

“Curry… the power of negative emotions is indeed strong, but they are a double-edged sword; while harming others, they also erode yourself.” During the standoff, Randall suddenly broke the silence. He stepped in front of Curry and continued, “I fight not out of hatred. The power to bring hope to everyone, to create a better future for everyone—that power is invincible!”

A light drizzle began to fall from the overcast sky. The story began on a rainy day, and it will also end on a rainy day.

Randall took a gold card with an image of warding off evil from his jacket pocket, tossed it gently into the air, then clasped his hands together, facing the card and shouting, "Ace, exorcise evil and ward off misfortune!" The card transformed into a giant golden beast of light, then enveloped Ace. In the golden glow, Ace's figure rapidly grew larger, regaining his warding-off-evil form, a head taller than Little B. He stood tall and proud, exuding confidence and an imposing, unassuming aura.

Its combat experience far surpassed that of Little B. Upon regaining its true form, it automatically used the spell "Summon Lightning," generating a continuous stream of electric sparks around its body. This was a wise choice; lightning has always been the nemesis of demons, and its use is even more advantageous on rainy days.

"I'll cut off your escape route first, summon the heavenly lightning!" Ace said in a deep voice. A golden horn emerged from Ace's forehead, its head slightly bowed, pointing the horn towards the sky. A bolt of lightning shot out from the horn, followed by several thick pillars of lightning that struck straight down from the clouds, shattering the flock of crows and the pterosaur fossil amidst the deafening roar of thunder. But Cheng Xin, holding the "Dictionary of Corpse Language" in both hands, was protected by a shield, remaining completely unharmed.

“That book seems to be able to defend against spells… Ace, just poke it with the Horn of the Demon Slayer!” Randall shouted, now acting as an off-field advisor.

Ace mustered all her strength, like a bull, and charged towards Cheng Xin with her head down. But she crashed into the protective shield and couldn't break through.

Beside him, Little B also wanted to use the evil-suppressing horn like his older brother Ace, but only a small tip of the horn extended.

"Come on, B, you can do it too! Believe in yourself!" Curry encouraged.

Randall was also instructing Ace: "Switch to the Double Evil-Repelling Horns and unleash the Distortion Space! If you can't neutralize that shield, smash it!"

"OK!" The unicorn retracted Ace's forehead, and two horns radiating golden light grew from its sides. People have always argued about which of the three—Bixie, Tianlu, and Fuba—has two horns, which has one horn, and which has no horns. In fact, Bixie's divine horns can grow according to the circumstances.

Over there, Little B's unicorn horn finally emerged, but it seemed to be struggling, as it was panting heavily.

"Go for it!" Ace charged forward, and although his twin horns failed to pierce the protective shield of the "Dictionary of Corpses," the immense force caused both of them to suffer a great impact. Ace was knocked back several steps, collapsing to the ground drenched in sweat; Cheng Xin fared no better, slumping to the ground; and the "Dictionary of Corpses" was knocked away, falling down the stairs.

At this moment, Little B mustered his courage, roared and ran over, the evil-suppressing horn on his head piercing Cheng Xin's chest.

"Ugh!" Cheng Xin opened his mouth as if to vomit, but nothing came out. He forcefully pushed Little B's head away, pulling the horn piercing his chest out. He stood up, clutching the wound on his chest, swaying a few times before finally regaining his balance: "Ha ha ha, you think you can win? I'm immortal now!"

“You really turned yourself into…” Curry said through gritted teeth. Cheng Xin, this Corpse Whisperer, had turned himself into a living corpse.

Cheng Xin brazenly declared, "What's the big deal! There are so many people in the city who live aimless, thoughtless, and mediocre lives. What's the difference between them and walking corpses? I'm just making it a reality and pursuing a better way of life! Since so many people crave endless life and a mundane existence, why not grant them that wish? If the world operates according to my planned order, everyone will enjoy eternal happiness, and there will be no transgressions."

Curry interrupted him angrily: "Enough! If we let a madman like you build this rotten world, we might as well all die! Eternal life? You've already lost your life! What right do you have to talk about life!"

Randall patted Curry on the shoulder with a sly smile and said, "Ignore him. He's just a pathetic, self-important wretch. Look at his chest, does he think he can get away with this?"

"What?" Cheng Xin then noticed his chest, where Little B's Demon-Suppressing Horn had pierced him. It seemed infected, beginning to be consumed by golden light. He recited the Corpse Language to prevent the corpse from decaying, but to no avail; the wound only widened. "Hmph, hmph, I was just too hasty! Haste makes waste! Ah..." He bent over in pain, but a ferocious smile remained on his face. "Don't be too happy yet! Even if I fail, it doesn't mean the Corpse Whisperers will truly disappear from this world! You must have wondered why the 'Corpse Whisperer Stories' circulating in the world are distorted. Let me tell you, it's because the successors of the Corpse Whisperers have always existed in history! The 'Corpse Language Dictionary' has been continuously passed down, and many Corpse Whisperers have appeared among humanity. I am not alone! We will look forward to the day we rise again! We will always be the masters of the corpses!"

"Who are you trying to scare? Shut up!" Randall, already impatient, gathered a black sphere in his hands, tossed it lightly into the air, and then punched it like a volleyball. The "Dark Netherworld Shatter," which gathered all-consuming dark power, completely destroyed Cheng Xin, who had not yet been completely devoured by the evil-repelling power.

Watching the black sphere gradually shrink, Randall sighed: "I hate listening to those rambling, incoherent dying words. A dying man's words are not necessarily good!"

Curry breathed a sigh of relief, but then he suddenly remembered the "Dictionary of Corpses" that had fallen from the building, and rushed to the edge of the building to look at it. Little B was one step ahead, spreading its wings and flying down, then retrieving a roll of paper that was soaked to a pulp by the rain and whose words were illegible.

"Is this what happens to 'The Corpse Dictionary'?" Curry said, both amused and exasperated.

“Let’s go, it’s all over. Tell the people downstairs to evacuate and rest. I should go back too…” Randall, with Ace back in his original form, prepared to leave.

Curry grabbed him: "Don't run away so quickly. You still have to teach me how to turn Little B back to its original form! I can't just let it go out on the street like this, can I?"

"Isn't this cool?" Randall laughed. Leading Little B home, looking at the countless unfamiliar and indifferent faces of the pedestrians on the street, Curry didn't feel much joy in victory; instead, he felt a sense of loss. Although the Corpse Whisperers had been eliminated, who could guarantee that the art of Corpse Whispering would also be lost forever? Who could guarantee that the profession of "Corpse Whisperer" would disappear from this world? Who could guarantee that the people walking on the street were all living beings?

Perhaps, the Corpse Whisperer and his servants are right beside you.

Side Story: Curry's Confession

The Corpse Whisperer incident has subsided for two months. Little B and I went on a beach vacation and had a good rest.

Despite General Molina's repeated attempts to persuade me to stay and his recommendation to higher authorities, I resigned, citing the loss of all my comrades and the irreparable wounds to my soul. I truly did not want to return to that place filled with sorrowful memories.

Subsequent investigations revealed that John Schmidt, initially suspected, was actually completely innocent. The saying "truth is stranger than fiction" rings true.

The description couldn't be more fitting for him; he genuinely just happened to be sick (this cold was truly awful! It could be called a "framed cold"). Perhaps he was just incredibly unlucky? He seemed to perfectly fit the criteria for a Corpse Whisperer, but in reality, he wasn't at all. And then there was my former superior, that mysterious figure codenamed "G.net," who was even more innocent. Afterwards, before any reinvestigation was even possible, when I mentioned him to General Molina, the general burst into laughter. He wasn't being rude; he simply knew that G.net was a secret intelligent computer system developed by the Department of Defense—otherwise, why would it be called ".net"? Isn't that both laughable and pathetic? If I had known, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble by having it participate in data analysis and reasoning!

If you ask me what my plans are for the future, I guess I can't just sit idle! I'm not the kind of person who can stay still. Hmm... maybe going to find Randall is a good idea. Traveling the world with Little B, becoming a professional monster hunter in another era wouldn't be bad either! Oh, speak of the devil, and here he is, he's calling.