Chapter 1: The Haunted Forest of Demons (Part 1)

  Ding Lingxiu stared blankly at the blood-stained face of Luo Huaiyu in front of him, who was shrouded in a cold mist. He didn't know if it was because he had been in the ice cabinet for too long or if it was just too unexpected, but he suddenly felt dizzy for an instant. However, his mind had already flashed through countless thoughts like lightning.

  But in the instant when their eyes met, he suddenly did the opposite of what was normal and involuntarily let out a low cry:

  "Why is it you?"

  Luoyi Yu didn't respond, expressionless, and continued eating with one arm broken off.

  At this moment, Luo Huaiyu was completely unrecognizable to Ding Lingxiu as the lovely girl he once knew. Her scarlet eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty greed, and her originally pale face had turned an eerie white, making the bits of brain matter stuck at the corner of her mouth even more nauseating.

  She took a bite with great satisfaction, and her whole body was filled with black corpse energy.

  Zhang Shanyi also became at a loss in this instant, and this was also an outcome that he had never thought of.

  Ding Lingxiu instinctively pursed his lips, but forgot that he had been possessed by the Steel Mouse. This action caused his own steel teeth to snap shut violently, shocking his gums and making them ache, but this sharp pain suddenly made him much more alert.

  Ding Lingxu nodded slightly, his eyes becoming sharp and resolute. In a tone that was difficult to describe, with a hint of deep sorrow, he said to Zhang Shanyi:

  "Do what we should do."

  "But... how can I explain this to Director Luo?" Zhang Shanyi felt a bit bewildered.

  Because of Zhang Shanyi's Taoist practice, he saw at a glance that the Lu Huaiyu in front of him was the corpse-eating ghost in the hospital. If she was possessed by the corpse-eating ghost, ghosts of this level would definitely harm Lu Huaiyu no matter what method they used to subdue her.

  "Cut the nonsense!" Ding Lingxu rebuked sternly, suddenly becoming a completely different person from his usual self.

  Zhang Shanyi thought that Ding Lingxiu was emotionally agitated because he didn't want to accept the fact. But he didn't know that Ding Lingxiu's unusual loss of calmness wasn't just because the woman in front of him, who had been possessed by a ghost, was his friend. It was also because his strong self-esteem wouldn't allow him to make such a low-level judgment. He clearly knew that Luo Huaizhu was born with a yin body and could have inferred that she might be a food spirit, but he made an incorrect judgment due to confusing his emotions, which was the real reason for his emotional agitation.

  Before the words had fallen, Ding Lingxiu had already rushed towards Luo Huaiyu, his sharp claws tearing through the air, ten cold lights intersecting and emerging, the torn airflow sharp as a knife. However, facing Ding Lingxiu's attack this time, Luo Huaiyu was unexpectedly calm and composed, not showing any intention of dodging. Although Ding Lingxiu's attack had left some room for maneuver, he had thought that the Corpse Eater would definitely resist, allowing him to continue attacking until the Corpse Eater revealed an opening, at which point he could instantly dispel the possession and use the Demon-Subduing Talisman to subdue the Corpse Eater. But unexpectedly, Luo Huaiyu didn't move a muscle. The extremely sharp claws pierced through Luo Huaiyu's chest without mercy, fresh blood drawing out a line of blood, splashing onto Ding Lingxiu's pale face and confusing his astonished expression.

  "Hehehe......"

  Luo Huaiyu looked at the wounds on his body, and a ghostly, eerie laughter squeezed out from the corner of his mouth, which was filled with blood, making people's hair stand on end.

  Ding Lingxu stopped attacking and was stunned.

  "Heh heh, come on, have the guts to kill me? Kill me?" Luo Huaiyu looked up at Ding Lingxiu with a sly smile.

  Her originally cold and elegant face had become twisted beyond recognition, with a deathly pale complexion and eyes that emitted a terrifying chill. This scene was almost identical to the one she had seen in her nightmares while recovering from her illness, and for an instant, Dingshu thought she was still dreaming.

  Ding Lingxiu retreated two steps after using his special ability, and the iron claws tightly closed together.

  "This ghoul is truly cunning, actually using this method." Zhang Shanyi also felt beyond expectation.

  "Huh? This spirited demon hunter still knows how to cherish and pity, huh? Then you really don't plan on killing me? That means you must be prepared to let me kill you." Luo Huaiyu's bloody mouth corners rose high, he tossed the broken arm in his hand, and rubbed his fists together as he slowly approached Ding Lingxiu.

  Ding Lingxiu struggled to calm her panicked heart and stared fixedly at Luo Huaiyu.

  The treacherous laughter was sharp and piercing to the ear, the sharp fingernails stained with blood and flesh were raised high, and the bloody fingernails fiercely scratched towards Ding Lingxiu.

  Ding Lingxiu instinctively raised his iron claw to block, but didn't expect Luo Huaiyu to immediately stop her bloody fingernails as soon as Ding Lingxiu raised his hand to counterattack. Due to inertia, Ding Lingxiu's iron claw slashed through Luo Huaiyu's body again, leaving five extremely deep wounds on Luo Huaiyu's jade arm. The flowing blood quickly coagulated in the Taiping room, forming a terrifying pattern.

  "You......" Ding Ling Xiu glared furiously at the Corpse Eater, gritting his teeth.

  "How's that? Still resisting? You dare to continue resisting, her body will be killed by you, hehehe..." The corpse demon sneered, its sharp fingernails lightly scratching Lò Huái Yù's skin.

  Ding Lingxiu's mind suddenly surged with a terrible idea of killing Luo Huaiyu together, but the idea flashed by and he quickly regained his composure. For now, there was only one thing to do - quietly wait for an opportunity. So, he removed the attachment, and his expression returned to its usual calm and collected state.

  Steel mouse transformed into red light, appearing in front of the two people.

  "Huh? Young Master, how did you dispel it?" Steel Mouse looked at Ding Lingyu in confusion.

  When Ding Lingyu lets the demon possess him, the demon's consciousness will temporarily leave, and only the demonic power will be borrowed by Ding Lingyu. So Gang Shu doesn't know what happened just now.

  "You go back first." Ding Lingxiu said softly, putting his hand into the pocket of his windbreaker.

  Gang Mouse looked at Ding Lingxiu, then looked at Luo Huaiyu and Zhang Shanyi, hesitated for a moment before returning to the Hundred Ghosts Picture.

  The ghouls saw Ding Lingxiu transform back into human form, and he stretched his hand into his pocket, which made him somewhat suspicious, fearing that he would suddenly shoot out a talisman from his pocket, the smile on his face also froze.

  Ding Lingxiu's hands in her pocket moved slightly, as if searching for something.

  "What are you going to do? I'm warning you, if you dare make another reckless move, I'll rip this little girl's body apart." The ghoulish demon said fiercely.

  "Look at you getting flustered." Ding Lingxu's face was expressionless as he pulled out his hand, which held a cigarette and lighter.

  With a snap, the lighter's flame flickered and jumped, thin smoke drifted lightly upwards, Ding Lingxiu removed his mask and lit up a cigarette.

  "Still smoking with death at your doorstep?" The Corpse Ghost jeered, but saw that Ding Lingyu remained unmoved.

  The ghouls were enraged, raised their bloody fingernails and scratched towards Ding Lingyu. This time, Ding Lingyu did not dodge at all, his entire shirt was torn to shreds, and the crimson blood stained his whole body.

  Ding Lingxiu struggled to restrain herself, not letting her painful expression show.

  Zhang Shanyi's heart was racing, his blood congealing, he put his hand on the T-shirt, ready to fight.

  But the Corpse Demon Horse immediately sensed his hostility and glared at him fiercely:

  "You dare to make a move, and this girl will die instantly."

  Zhang Shanyi hesitated, but he would not allow Ding Lingxiu to die because of this. For a moment, he was at a loss. He was anxious and looked at Ding Lingxiu, only to find that Ding Lingxiu seemed to be feeling no pain, but instead continued to smoke calmly, shaking his head gently towards him.

  Zhang Shanyi saw that Ding Lingxiu seemed to have a plan, so he didn't dare to make any rash moves.

  "Heh heh, aren't you very confident? Come on?"

  The corpse demon sneered and provoked, waving its bloody fingernails in a crazy dance. In no time, Ding Lingxiu's entire body was covered with bloodstains, the blood dripping onto the ground like fine rain, congealing into sparkling transparent beads. The icy air made the torn wounds ache unbearably, Ding Lingxiu clenched his teeth, sweat condensing into a thin frost covering his forehead and eyebrows.

  Smoke was burning between Ding Ling's slender and weak fingers, dreamy and enchanting.

  "Do you know why I didn't fight back?" Ding Lingxiu muttered.

  "Of course you can't fight back, I'll kill her." The ghoul glared with rounded eyes and licked the fresh blood on its fingernails.

  Ding Lingxiu's mouth twitched, unsure if it was due to the intense pain throughout his body or a bitter smile.

  "Haha, because you've already lost. Tobacco is a wonderful thing. They were originally plants, picked by humans and died. But now they're burning in my hands, I brought them back to life."

  "You're still stubborn even when death is imminent, watch me kill you." The ghouls howled.

  Ding Lingxiu's calm and collected demeanor only served to further enrage the Corpse Eater, who raised its bloody claws and stabbed them straight at Ding Lingxiu's chest. With a look of disdain on his face, Ding Lingxiu spat out the half-smoked cigarette in his mouth towards the Corpse Eater. The Corpse Eater didn't even think before slapping its palm to swat away the cigarette, but as soon as its hand made contact with the smoke, a yellow mist filled its vision, and at the same time, the cigarette vanished into thin air.

  At the moment when the Corpse Eater hesitated, a burst of golden light followed, and red runes appeared out of thin air. Luohuaiyu's body was motionless, her lips moving but unable to make a sound. The Corpse Eater also seemed to be unable to move, its eyes wide with fear.

  "This......" Zhang Shanyi suddenly didn't see clearly what was going on and couldn't help but stare with his mouth agape.