Ghost Stories Series 10

Chapter 23

Suddenly, hundreds of monsters seemed to emerge from the ground and surrounded Ling'er and the others! Everyone was startled at first, but they quickly calmed down. They all knew that they couldn't panic now.

"Zhu'er, you protect those three and Yun'er! Don't worry about the rest," Ling'er instructed.

"Master, be careful." Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Ling'er with concern.

Monsters surged forward like a flood. Everyone brandished their weapons to annihilate the enemies around them. However, wave after wave came. Chang Xiao was slashed in the chest, the Wolf King's movements slowed, the Hunter Saint's old wound began to bleed again, and Hu Yi's white clothes were stained with blood, indistinguishable between the monsters' and his own. Ling'er gritted her teeth; this couldn't go on. The number of monsters surrounding them was increasing. She leaped up, her twin rings spinning rapidly around her body. She formed a lotus flower with her fingers, and a white light emanated from her hands. She chanted, "Illusion!" Her right hand formed a circle with her twin rings, and she uttered, "Annihilation!" Instantly, white light burst forth, and all the monsters surrounding them vanished under the attack of Illusion Annihilation, the most powerful of Ling'er's three killing moves.

After using this move, her spiritual power was exhausted. Ling'er collapsed weakly to the ground. Seeing this, Hu Yi immediately rushed over to protect her. Just three feet away from her, a black sword pierced through Hu Yi's chest. Ling'er's vision went black, and she cried out, "No—" Why was no one helping her? Where was her master? Where was Chang Xiao? Where was the Wolf King? Ling'er saw that they were all lying on the ground as well. Hu Yi slowly fell, and as his body approached the ground, he revealed his true form—an eight-tailed silver fox! Seeing Hu Yi killed, Shi Ba let out a mournful howl, but he didn't even have the strength to stand up. The nearly two-meter-tall fox lay on the ground, wailing loudly.

Scenes from her acquaintance with Hu Yi flashed before Ling'er's eyes like a movie: the arrogant Hu Yi, the vain Hu Yi, the Hu Yi who often made her both laugh and cry, the Hu Yi who was utterly loyal to her—was he the same skinny eight-tailed silver fox lying on the ground? Tears fell to the ground. Hu Yi, Hu Yi…

Ling'er stared at the person who had pulled the sword from Hu Yi's chest, unable to believe it was her...

"Impossible! Why you?" Ling'er trembled as she lay prostrate on the ground.

"No one can stop our plan! Not even Grandpa!" Lian Yun's face revealed an evil smile, completely losing the naivety of the previous moment.

Shock struck again! Lian Tian had been murdered, and the killer was none other than his beloved granddaughter! How could everyone not be shocked? What could have driven Lian Yun to such cruelty?

"Alright, now that you know, I should take care of them!" Lian Yun said, walking towards Shi Ba, still holding the sword dripping with Hu Yi's blood.

Ling'er only felt a dark shadow flash before her eyes, and a person stood in front of Shi Ba. It was Chang Xiao.

"What? The Soul-Dispelling Powder I put in your food didn't work on you?" Lian Yun asked in surprise.

"What can a little bit of sleeping potion do to me?" The smile remained on his face.

Upon hearing this, Lian Yun immediately attacked Chang Xiao. She couldn't afford to fail; how could she explain it to him if she did? Thinking of this, she wielded her sword rapidly, focusing solely on offense and refusing to defend. What did it matter if she lost her life?

"Arrogant, kill Chang Xiao right now!" Lian Yun ordered. Arrogant, expressionless, attacked Chang Xiao, who was already struggling to defend himself. His speed decreased, and blood flowed continuously from the hateful wound on his shoulder. Ling'er knew he was just putting on a brave face, but she couldn't move an inch. Teardrop and Hunter Saint were also too weak to even lift their hands. The Wolf King sighed nearby. Was this helpless jungle their final resting place?

"What two idiots!" Teardrop's cold voice rang out.

"Pearl, who are you calling a fool?" Ling'er asked using her telepathic abilities.

Of course, it's Lianyungang!

She? But she can't keep laughing anymore!

If he were to die so easily, how could he possibly live up to the title of "demon"?

Tears' words reassured Ling'er slightly. After all, even though Xiao Cheng had slaughtered the entire village of sorcerers, he was unharmed. However, when she looked up again, she found that things were getting worse.

Two handsome but slightly sinister men in black appeared beside the statue. One of them was the Western Inspector who had appeared in the cave during the summer vacation. The other must undoubtedly be the cult leader.

"Yun'er, why haven't you killed them all yet?" The arrogant voice of the Western Inspector rang out.

Lian Yun stopped attacking Chang Xiao and retreated to their side, saying, "The Soul-Losing Powder was actually ineffective against him!"

The cult leader smiled and said, "Hand him over to us. Yun'er, you take that woman away first." He then looked at Chang Xiao with disdain.

The moment he uttered the words "You dare!", the smile vanished from his face. She was everything to him; who would dare touch her?

"Do you think I dare?" After saying that, the two of them attacked Chang Xiao, who was not far away.

"Two more idiots!" Teardrop sneered again.

"You forced me to this!" The smile vanished, replaced by an evil and a ferocity never before seen. Ling'er stared blankly at Chang Xiao, feeling as if time had stopped. A sensation, a power, spread through her, and the demonic aura that had enveloped the Helpless Forest seemed to recede, as if all life in the world had vanished. Although Ling'er could still see everyone present, she still felt darkness, an inexplicable darkness.

Chang Xiao slowly rose, hovering in mid-air, coldly staring at Lian Yun and the others, saying, "I hope you won't regret it, but I don't think you'll have a chance to regret it!" The moment Chang Xiao finished speaking, everyone present felt as if their bodies had been scorched by fire. Then Chang Xiao released his power. If the power of the Wolf King and Teardrop was terrifying, then Chang Xiao's power was despair-inducing. Within his power, everyone felt they had lost the right to live. But it wasn't death. Afterwards, the Hunter Saint said to the Hunter Emperor and the others, "That power made me feel despair, devoid of life, an endless, eternal torment. At that moment, I would have preferred immediate death."

Ling'er stared in disbelief at the scene before her. Was the man broken into four pieces the same cult leader who commanded tens of thousands of followers? Was the man, headless and with his eyes wide open in death, the same arrogant and domineering Western Inspector from just moments before? Before Lian Yun could catch his breath, Chang Xiao appeared before her, crushing her legs and shoulders before flying into the sky. Ling'er heard his voice from high above: "Listen up, all demons, monsters, and ghosts of the Extreme Realm! This commander is not to disturb the demon race's statue here, or your entire race will be exterminated!"

Ling'er felt a sense of familiarity. Before her, a melancholy, flower-like woman drifted down a cliff, while a man clutched her torn clothes in utter despair. They were the two people from her dream. Why were they here now? Ling'er's head throbbed with pain, as if some force was tearing her apart.

"You're finished! Now, I'll ask you a question, and you answer it!" Chang Xiao's domineering tone left no room for negotiation. "Who are you?" After saying that, he walked over and took the Blue Tear from Ling'er, placing it on Hu Yi's chest.

"Lianyungang".

"What is your purpose in opening the Extreme Domain?" Chang Xiao checked Kuang Ao's pulse again. Then he struck Kuang Ao in the back, and Kuang Ao spat out a mouthful of black blood.

"To rule humanity and dominate the world," Lian Yun said expressionlessly; her heart was dead.

"What exactly made you kill your own grandfather without being controlled by others?" He asked, taking out the small white jade bottle and feeding the pills to everyone one by one. When he got to Ling'er, he poured out the last four or five pills and fed them all to her. Ling'er's headache seemed to have subsided.

“Because of love, I love him, and I can give up everything for him. All I do is try to stop him from frowning again!” A happy smile suddenly appeared on Lian Yunxiao’s face.

"Who? Who is the person you love?" Chang Xiao asked. He helped Ling'er up and held her in his arms.

"Master, the person I love is the Master." She gazed calmly at the bloody, mangled corpse.

"One last question, how old are you?" Chang Xiao asked, puzzled.

"Before answering this question, can you promise me one thing: let me die by his side?" Lian Yun's tears fell, but her gaze remained fixed on the bloody scene.

Chang Xiao looked at Ling'er in his arms. Ling'er nodded, her eyes filled with tears.

"Okay, I promise you." After saying that, he put Ling'er down, picked up Lian Yun, and placed him next to the sect leader.

"I'm sixteen! Thank you, big brother!" Lianyun smiled happily, as life slipped further and further away from her with the passage of time.

"How about I turn you all to ashes, so we can never be apart again?"

"Alright. Why did Heaven arrange things this way? Why am I a demon and he is the leader? How wonderful it would be if we were all ordinary humans? However, I don't believe in Heaven. In my next life, I will defy Heaven again!" With that, he closed his eyes with a smile.

Chang Xiao raised his hands, and crimson flames shot out from them, turning Lian Yun and the sect leader's corpses into ashes, which then mingled together.

“Silly children, you have no next life. How can you defy the will of Heaven?” Chang Xiao said softly.

On the way home, Hu Yi gradually woke up. Ling'er was overjoyed, constantly telling him she would buy him lots and lots of cosmetics and new clothes, and that she would provide him with fresh lemons to apply to his face every day. Hu Yi was secretly pleased with himself: This sword wound was really worth it! Hehe.

At the entrance to the Extreme Domain, Kuang Ao grabbed Ling'er, knelt before her, and said, "I absolutely must acknowledge you as my master! To repay your kindness in recognizing my talent!"

"No—" Ling'er screamed and fainted.

(6) Who is the murderer?

Back at school, with the addition of another arrogant cousin, Ling'er finally decided to rent her own place. She had too many "cousins," and her biggest worry was Hu Yi. He was currently weak, and what if he accidentally revealed his true form? The consequences would be unimaginable. Moreover, Hu Yi's handsome appearance, his dashing eighteen-year-old charm, his arrogant charisma, and his alluring tears had become the talk of the school. Everyone was privately discussing: "How come all of Ling'er's relatives are so good-looking? Each one is more attractive than the last."

Finally, everything was packed. For some reason, since returning from the Extreme Domain, Ling'er had developed a love-hate relationship with Chang Xiao. Loving him was understandable, but where did the hate come from? Lately, she'd been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding him, not even telling him about her move. Meanwhile, Tears watched Ling'er's every move with smug satisfaction, as if she'd known all along that this situation would arise.

"Ling'er, I didn't know that humans had to spend money to survive. Unlike our hometown, the Extreme Region, hehe..." he said with a smug laugh.

"Are you short of money again?" Ling'er didn't even glance at him. It was always the same excuse when she asked for money! So unoriginal!

"You really understand me! How can I ever repay your kindness in recognizing my talent?" he said arrogantly and exaggeratedly.

"Asking me less money is already repaying me! Tell me, how much do you want?" Recently, that guy has become obsessed with the internet thanks to Hu Yi's teachings. He hangs out on a forum called Tianya every day, often talking about things that happened in the Extreme Domain, but no one believes him.

"Give me ten thousand yuan..."

"What???" Ling'er had never known her voice could be so loud.

"I want to buy a computer, and I'll also buy a webcam..." His arrogant voice was barely audible, probably because he realized his request was a bit excessive.

"No way!" Ling'er glared at him fiercely.

"5555555555555, am I, a mere demon servant, not even worth ten thousand dollars?? I think there's no point in living anymore, I might as well die, 555555555..." Kuang Ao cried out in a deafening voice.

"No, brother! Don't die! Look at our fate as servants, you have to think positively!" Hu Yi and the eighteen attendants came out and pulled Kuang Ao away.

"Brother! Don't stop me! I'm going to die today! 555555555" As he said this, he looked around for something, probably looking for a knife again.

Ling'er burst out, pointing at Hu Yi and Shiba like a shrew yelling in the street, "Don't hold him back! Let him die! Nobody hold him back, here! I have something here!" As she spoke, she threw her Blue Tear in front of Kuang Ao.

His arrogant eyes darted around, and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a nail clipper. He held it to his neck and said, "My blade is faster, so don't stop me..."

"Master, shall we go shopping? And get a facial while we're at it, and then go eat Brazilian barbecue?" When Hu Yi heard Lei Zhu'er mention getting a facial, he let go of Kuang Ao's arm, and when Shi Ba heard about eating Brazilian barbecue, he also stopped.

"Alright~" Ling'er nodded in agreement, then glanced at the arrogant man kneeling on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Leizhu'er walk over and kick him off the bed with lightning speed. Afterward, she lightly flicked her shoes, took Ling'er's arm, and said, "Let's go, Master. I heard that Pacific Department Store is having a sale today~"

“We’ll go too,” Hu Yi and Shiba said.

Arrogantly crawled out from under the bed and said, "Wait for me! Don't walk so fast!"

Back home, Hu Yi kept stroking his recently done facial, Shi Ba kept stroking his round, basketball-like belly, and Kuang Ao kept stroking his newly bought computer. The three of them were grinning foolishly when the doorbell rang. Hu Yi went to open the door and saw a stranger around forty years old. Before the man could speak, he frowned and said, "You've got the wrong person!" He slammed the door shut. Before he could even sit down, the doorbell rang again. Hu Yi stormed back home; he hated being disturbed when he was admiring his skin!

"What do you want to do?" Hu Yi asked angrily.

"I'm looking for Ling'er," the man said.

"I said you've got the wrong person... What? You're looking for Ling'er?"

"Yes, it took me a lot of effort to find this place."

At this moment, Ling'er came out of the bedroom and shouted loudly before even seeing anyone, "God of Wealth??"

"Hehe, you little girl! How have you been lately? Do you still want to do part-time work while studying?" the man Ling'er called the God of Wealth laughed.

"Of course I want it! I'm bankrupt!" Ling'er said, looking at Hu Yi and the others. If it weren't for them, they wouldn't be without food money for next month!

"I have a difficult problem at hand recently, and I'm afraid you're the only one who can solve it!" the man said.

"No problem, what case is it? Tell me about it?" Ling'er asked excitedly. "By the way, let me introduce you. These are my cousins: Hu Yi, Shi Ba, Kuang Ao, and my cousin Lei Zhu'er."

"Why are all these names so strange...?"

"Uh...because they all love being online, oh right, those are their online names," Ling'er explained cautiously. These guys certainly had weird names. "This is Zhang Guoqiang, Captain Zhang from the police station. He comes to me with any difficult cases—I mean, cases involving non-human activity—so he's our benefactor!"

Upon hearing this, everyone greeted in unison, "Greetings, God of Wealth!"

Zhang Guoqiang frowned. No wonder, it would be strange not to have a headache dealing with this group of people.

"What exactly is the case? Tell me quickly!" Ling'er poured him a glass of water.

"Here's what happened. A month ago, we received a report that a murder had occurred in a certain building. The person who reported it was a part-time worker from that company. When we arrived at the scene, we found that this was not an ordinary murder. So we stopped telling anyone." Zhang Guoqiang's expression was solemn. This was the first time Ling'er had ever seen a case that he cared so much about.

He sighed deeply and continued, "The deceased was a woman, approximately 25 years old. The murderer was her boyfriend. We found the body in the bathroom. To be precise, it was a skeleton..."

"Skeleton?" Ling'er exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, the deceased was immersed in strong acid, leaving only a skeleton! The strangest thing is that the skeleton is not human, but a human body with a snake tail. To be precise, the deceased was a member of the Nuwa clan..." Zhang Guoqiang was a bit incoherent. Although he had handled countless cases, he was still an ordinary person, and it was difficult for him to accept things outside of human science.

"What? A human body with a snake tail?" Teardrop jumped up, her fists clenched. Ling'er didn't know why she was so nervous, but she told her directly that Teardrop was about to explode! "Where is the murderer now?" Her voice was so cold that everyone trembled.

"The murderer must have been caught, right?" Ling'er wanted to move the location of Lei Zhu'er's outburst to the police station; she didn't want any disaster to happen in the house she had just moved into.

“They had caught him, but he died on the way to the station. The cause of death is unknown!” Zhang Guoqiang said.

"Oh my god!" Ling'er pounded her head in anguish. "My newly rented apartment!"

Ling'er nervously watched Lei Zhu'er, then gave Hu Yishiba a triumphant wink, meaning that everyone should be careful if Lei Zhu'er lost her temper. They had all witnessed what it was like when she lost her temper on the way to the Extreme Domain! However, to everyone's surprise, Lei Zhu'er actually sat down again, but her face was covered in bulging veins and her complexion was terribly pale.

“That murderer wasn’t an ordinary person either!” Zhang Guoqiang continued.

"What do you mean?" Tears welled up and pressed.

“That person died on the road and his body underwent a great transformation. I mean, he aged extremely quickly. I can’t describe the situation because people who haven’t seen it before don’t know that a person can age like that!” Zhang Guoqiang picked up his cup and drank the water in one gulp.