Chapter 138: You Want to Compete with Me? You’re Not Worthy!

"Yes, I'm afraid this matter is far from ordinary." Ji Chuxue’s brows knitted together, her voice laced with a subtle, irrepressible tremor. "Most of those corpses we discovered at the bottom of the well... they were pregnant women."

At the mention of this, her thoughts turned once more to Wu Qixi, and anxiety gripped her heart. Qixi, you must be safe!

...

The object of her concern, Wu Qixi, was currently lying on her bed with her eyes closed, resting. Outside the door, A-Dai stood guard like a statue, his gaze drifting from time to time toward the deep, vast night sky as a flood of endless memories surged within him.

It had been a joyous New Year. Long Life Village had been filled with laughter and cheer, every household adorned with lanterns and ribbons, brimming with festive spirit. That night, he had sat by the hearth with his father, mother, and elder sister, enjoying a sumptuous meal amidst constant laughter. He had silently made a wish that, in the future, he would ensure his family lived a good life where they could eat meat every single day.

Alas, until that child—no, that demon—appeared, everything changed.

The demon had arrived in the village appearing as a beggar. He claimed his name was Shi Nuo, that he was an orphan with no family, wandering the world alone. As if he possessed some sort of dark sorcery, the villagers—including his parents and his sister—became inexplicably fond of him. It was as if the entire village had been bewitched; they suddenly became fanatically obsessed with the pursuit of eternal life and believed every word that fell from Shi Nuo’s lips.

Most chilling of all was the sight of them willingly submerging themselves in that viscous, green liquid under the cover of night, convinced it was the shortcut to immortality. No matter how he tried to dissuade them, the villagers remained unmoved. His parents and sister even accused him of being paranoid, turning a blind eye to his desperate concerns.

When did it all begin? He could no longer clearly recall. Before he could mount any resistance, several villagers had forcibly thrown him into a vat filled with that green liquid, where he was forced to soak for three full days and nights. When he finally awoke, he had transformed into this half-human, half-ghost creature. Every single person in the village, his parents and sister included, seemed to have changed—their very souls turned into something alien.

They had once been so kind-hearted; how could they have turned into these monsters, capable of harming the lives of others? Thinking of this, A-Dai closed his eyes in despair.

"A-Dai," he muttered with a bitter smile. This was the name he had chosen for himself. He was nothing but a fool—a "dullard"—unable to protect anyone, not even himself.

*Jingle—*
*Jingle—*

Suddenly, the sharp, urgent sound of bells pierced the silence of the night, and A-Dai’s body instantly went rigid. He threw open the door, stepped inside, and bolted it shut behind him.

"Quick! We must go!" he called out anxiously to Wu Qixi on the bed.

Wu Qixi had not been in a deep sleep; the moment the bells rang, she opened her eyes. She scrambled to get off the bed, but in her haste, she stumbled and fell to the floor.

"Get on my back!"

A-Dai hurried over, hoisted her up, and secured her on his back. He then strode to the bookshelf and triggered a subtle, hidden mechanism. The wooden bed slid away slowly, revealing a concealed passage beneath. Wu Qixi was secretly astonished; she had never imagined that the humble wooden cabin held such a secret.

A-Dai carried her into the darkness of the passage, not forgetting to slide the bed back into its original position before descending.

*Thud, thud, thud—*

A-Dai’s long strides carried him rapidly toward the end of the tunnel.

"A-Dai, are those corpse-ghosts following us?" Wu Qixi asked, her voice tight with tension.

"Yes," A-Dai replied succinctly.

"What do we do? My spiritual energy has only just begun to recover." Wu Qixi felt a surge of panic; she did not want to return to that place, but she also did not want to be a burden to A-Dai.

"They... will not... catch us... so quickly," A-Dai comforted her, lengthening his stride.

Not far outside the cabin, a group of ghosts wandered the vicinity, their eyes glinting with greed.

"Have you found that boy yet?"

"No..."

"The area is filled with trees; there isn't even a trace of him."

"Do you think the Master truly wants that boy's body so badly?"

"Shh, don't say that. Even I want it. The bodies of the villagers in Long Life Village are all wretched and misshapen—how could they compare to his?"

"Oh? Is that so? Do you intend to compete with me for it?"

Shi Nuo’s voice suddenly echoed through the darkness, laced with a hint of mockery.

*Bang! Bang!*

Two muffled sounds rang out. The spirit-extinguishing technique from Shi Nuo’s hand struck the two greedy ghosts like a bolt of lightning.

"Ahhh! Master, spare us!"
"Master, I was wrong! Please have mercy!"

Their pleas echoed in the air, but Shi Nuo’s eyes remained cold as ice. With their wretched screams, the two ghosts vanished into nothingness. The other spirits, witnessing this, trembled in terror.

"Hmph, competing with me? Are you even worthy?"

Shi Nuo swept his gaze over the spot where the two ghosts had dissipated, a look of disdain curling his lips. He then took out a bone flute and began to play. A series of eerie, haunting notes filled the air. Only when the crisp sound of a bell rang out did he slowly lower the instrument.

"A soul-bewildering formation? Hah! Who would have thought that boy actually understood such a thing?"