Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  Ding Lingxiu tore off the tattered cloth from his body, wiping away the frozen wound, while Zhang Shanyi stared blankly beside him, taking half a day to suddenly realize what was happening, and exclaimed in shock:

  "Fuwen spell? I've never seen anyone hide the talisman in smoke and burn it before, this jiangshi didn't expect you to complete the ritual during smoking! Brother Ding, this move is too awesome..."

  "It's useless, although the incense contains a talisman to suppress evil spirits, its power is far weaker than that of the paste talisman. This can only force the flesh-eating ghost out of Luo Huaiyu's body. Let's prepare for battle quickly." Ding Lingxiu finally couldn't bear it anymore and let out a few painful moans, his face suddenly turning pale.

  As soon as Ding Lingxiu's voice fell, Luo Huaiyu's stiff body indeed underwent a change. It was seen that the hair on top of Luo Huaiyu's head floated up lightly, and the intense yin energy converged at the Tianling cover, like red cotton wool. A large cluster of dark things was slowly separating from her body, accompanied by a mournful cry that made people's chests feel suffocated.

  "The Corpse Demon is about to break free from its body, we're ready for battle." Ding Lingyu said gritting his teeth.

  As he spoke, his calf had already started to tremble, but it wasn't because of fear, rather the cold and pain from blood loss had caused his nerves to twitch involuntarily. He shakily put on his jacket, and as soon as his hand entered the pocket, he felt a handful of shattered glass and ice-cold **.

  Ding Lingxiu's whole person was like being struck by a thunderbolt on a clear day, grasping the fragments and pulling his hand out of his pocket.

  "Not good, the porcelain bottle with Du Juan's blood was smashed by it." Ding Lingxiu frowned and said.

  "What do you plan to do?" Zhang Shanyi asked.

  "First, let's have a smoke." Ding Lingxiu threw away the fragments and lit up a cigarette.

  "This... Brother Ding, the house is on fire, and you still have the mood to smoke?"

  "Zhang Zhenren, don't be impatient." Ding Lingshu took out the military dagger that was always with him while exhaling mist.

  "Zhang Zhenren, I can no longer summon the yao mo from the Bai Gui Tu. For now, I can only hold off the Jiang Shi with my dagger for a while. After that, it's up to you."

  Zhang Shanyi's face was filled with helplessness, and he nodded his head saying: "Alright, Brother Ding, since you've successfully forced the Corpse Eater out of Luo Huaiyu's body, now I have at least a 60% chance of subduing it."

  "But you mustn't use a spell that would make it disperse," said Ding Lingxiu.

  "Are you still planning to subdue it?" Zhang Shanyi was shocked, because judging from the current situation, the chances of the two of them working together to eliminate the Corpse Eater were not great, and if they wanted to subdue it, it would be even more difficult.

  "It's not that I want to, it's just what I have to do." Ding Lingxiu's face was indistinct in the hazy smoke, only his flat voice slowly drifted out of his already trembling mouth.

  "Alright, then I'll definitely lend a hand." Zhang Shanyi's spirits lifted greatly, and he clasped his hands together in determination.

  "Boundless Heaven Venerable, urgent as a law decree. Central Pass Sage Art - Qian Kun Taiji Arm."

  Only to see Zhang Shanyi mobilize the three-stage inner elixir again, a burst of golden light erupted. In an instant, the cold air around Zhang Shanyi was swept away, and the yang energy surged up, dispersing the yin energy from all directions. Zhang Shanyi rolled up his right sleeve, revealing the crimson-golden tattoos on his arm under his sleeve.

  The crimson tattoo shone brightly, with a pattern of the Taiji diagram encircling his arm. Above it was a Daoist symbol that flashed red light, somewhat resembling the Chinese character for "day". The Taiji diagram was surrounded by dense, intricate symbols that filled the entire arm, enough to make someone with claustrophobia feel nauseous.

  After the inner elixir was activated, Zhang Shanyi's Qiankun Taiji arm emitted a brilliant light that shot out in all directions. The powerful spiritual pressure caused cold air to scatter everywhere, and even the Corpse-Eating Ghost, which had already squeezed out more than half of its ghostly body from Luo Huaiyu's head, was stunned by this light and hastily shrank back.

  This ghoul, with its true form revealed, was terrifyingly hideous. Its crimson body was riddled with black holes all over, like a beehive, and inside these holes grew long red hairs that quivered like sea anemones, making one feel extremely nauseous. The ghoul's face resembled that of a newborn baby, covered in stinky blood and flesh, with deep-set eye sockets containing bright red pupils that seemed to have two flames dancing within them. Its large mouth was wide open, facing Ding Lingdang:

  "You two actually dare to force my ghost out of hiding, you're dead for sure."

  "You have committed countless evils, today I will take the place of heaven to punish you." Zhang Shanyi finished speaking and raised his Eight Trigrams fist to strike towards the Corpse Eating Ghost.

  "Stop wasting words and go die!"

  Ding Lingxiu had already pulled out his dagger and pointed it at the Corpse Eater's chest while speaking. The Corpse Eater swung its arm, sending Ding Lingxiu flying several meters away. He crashed into an ice cabinet, instantly feeling a mix of flavors in his mouth.

  Taking advantage of the moment, Zhang Shanyi rushed to Lu Huaiyu's side and grabbed the corpse-eating ghost's head with his golden light flashing Qiankun Taiji arm. In an instant, golden light burst out in all directions, and the symbols on the Qiankun Bagua arm emitted a sound like a drumbeat at dawn and dusk, enveloping the corpse-eating ghost in dazzling brilliance like the scorching sun.

  The Corpse Eater covered its eyes with its hands, and it had to retreat from the intense light produced by Zhang Shan's Taiji arm. Zhang Shan pulled hard and pulled out the entire Corpse Eater from Luo Huaiyu's body, slamming it to the ground with a muffled sound. The cold frost in the air turned into water vapor, and a rainbow appeared in the golden light amidst the swirling water vapor.

  In an instant, the talismans on the Eight Trigrams Dry Sky Arm shot out tens of millions of dazzling rays, exploding on the Corpse Eating Ghost's body. A gigantic Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram appeared on the ground, imprisoning the Corpse Eating Ghost within.

  "Abominable..." The Corpse Eater let out a mournful howl, suffering as it was scorched by the intense sunlight. Zhang Shanyi pressed down on its head with all his might, but the Corpse Eater refused to give up its resistance and instead closed its eyes, struggling painfully within the Eight Trigrams diagram.

  Ding Lingxiu slowly got up, supported the faint Luohuaiyu, and let her lean against an ice cabinet. He then took out the Hundred Ghosts Painting and the Demon-Subduing Charm from his backpack.

  "Ai, hold on for a bit longer, I'll stick the talisman on right away." Ding Lingyu rushed over.

  The ghoulish creature, seeing the situation was not good, actually forced itself to open its eyes despite the intense light, and although its entire body was being scorched by the Eight Trigrams' fierce rays, emitting black smoke, it still continued to squirm about, gnashing its teeth and letting out a mournful howl.

  The powerful demon energy made Zhang Shanyi feel somewhat difficult to control, and his forehead also broke out in sweat. Ding Lingxiu grasped the Demon-Suppressing Talisman and rushed over wildly, just as he was about to stick it on the Corpse-Eating Ghost's body. Suddenly, Ding Lingxiu saw that what was moving was not the ghost's body, but the red fur on its body. He immediately thought of the Corpse-Eating Ghost's characteristics in his mind and wanted to tell Zhang Shanyi to quickly dodge, but it was already too late.

  The red hair on the corpse demon's body suddenly burst out of his hollow body, entwining Ding Lingxiu and Zhang Shanyi like a vine. In an instant, it wrapped around both of their arms, slamming them to the ground. The corpse demon spun its body, and the two people entwined by the red hair were slammed onto the ice cabinet once again.

  A dull thud, Zhang Shanyi's head was smashed and bleeding, Ding Lingshu also felt a shock in his right arm, the bone crackling with a brittle sound.

  "This guy can actually control its hair." Zhang Shanyi exclaimed.

  "It's my fault, I didn't think of that. The red hair in the Ghost Hole is not hair, but its antennae. It's for better invasion of the host's senses, to more delicately taste the flavor of the corpse, so it grew out so many antennae, using them to connect with the host's nerves, making the deliciousness of the corpse even more intense." Ding Ling Xiu replied with difficulty.

  "Hahaha...” The ghoul rubbed its eyes, which were hurting from the intense light, and let out a menacing laugh. Its sharp fangs glinted with cold light. "How's that? Does this three-legged cat's kung fu dare to fight me? Are you regretting it now? Haha... Don't worry, I only eat corpses, so... I won't eat you now. I'll kill you first, and then eat you."

  The ghouls excitedly started dancing with joy, looking extremely pleased with themselves.

  Ding Lingxiu puffed on his cigarette with a worried expression, and Zhang Shanyi also started to feel some fear. Just as the two were at a loss for what to do, the Corpse Eater's crazy expression suddenly froze because it discovered that the door handle of the mortuary was creaking.

  "This is terrible, why did someone come at this time? It must be Old Wang." Zhang Shanyi's nerves tightened up. In the current situation, their lives were already hanging by a thread. If Old Wang came again, it would undoubtedly cost them another life.

  "Old Wang?" Ding Lingxu was stunned for a moment, and suddenly thought of something. Countless clues burst out in his mind: the small house next to the morgue without any evil-repelling measures, Old Wang's reluctance to let Ding Lingxu enter the morgue, Luo Huaiyu's ability to freely enter and exit the morgue, the disappearance of the DV tape, and the innate yin body...

  "You shouldn't have come here." The words Old Wang had once said echoed again in Ding Ling's mind.

  Ding Lingxiu's eyes sparkled with understanding as he suddenly grasped the truth behind this matter, and it was possible that everything had been wrong from the very beginning! The cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground.

  Zhang Shanyi was about to shout for Old Wang not to come in and quickly go find someone for help. But Ding Lingshu suddenly showed an unusual expression, revealing a mix of surprise and joy, and softly said: "Don't panic, we're saved."