Chapter Ten: Battle with the Great Demon (Part Two)

"It seems I'll have to borrow your body for a while today. Close your eyes!"

At that moment, I dared not hesitate in the slightest—I shut my eyes at once.

A sudden buzzing rang through my mind.

All at once, I felt warmth suffuse my entire body, not a trace of cold remained. My brow emitted a faint silver light.

"Sorceress, where are you?"

"Enough chatter. In a moment, do exactly as I say!"

I nodded and turned around.

My nerves were stretched taut, my thoughts honed to a razor’s edge.

"Who exactly are you? Why do you want to kill me?"

Of course, every word was taught to me by the little fox spirit—I simply repeated them verbatim.

"Why would I want to kill you? Do you truly not know?"

At that moment, I saw the owner of the voice. The raspy, ancient tone belonged to a man wrapped head to toe in black, shrouded by a cloak. Behind him trailed the four fox spirits from earlier.

In the gloom, their eyes glimmered with multicolored lights. At a single glance, I felt dizzy, my vision swimming—I quickly looked away.

"What have you done with Ying’er?"

That was my own question. After all, I still had feelings for Su Ying, and just now she’d risked herself for me, only to be seized by this dark figure. I still didn’t know what had become of her.

"What have I done? Hmph, once we destroy your body, you’ll know."

With those words, the man in black vanished.

"Careful!"

The little fox cried out. Instinctively, I staggered back several steps, my hand snapping up into a sword-finger gesture, imitating scenes from the zombie movies I’d watched.

The little fox kept instructing me on what to do.

As I stepped forward, I pressed my fingers to my mouth.

Ah!

Just as I thought to let go, the little fox took control, forcing my teeth into my right middle finger, puncturing the skin. Under her guidance, my blood traced strange arcs in the air.

"Spirits of the underworld, clear the way! Hurry!"

At those words, a low hum erupted around me. Flames burst forth from thin air—pale crimson, like the highest tongues of a great fire. Through the flames, I could see shadowy figures writhing in torment.

The little fox explained that these were souls tormented and enslaved by the great ghost, transformed into his weapons. Without the spirit fire to shield me, my soul would have been ripped from my body by now.

Standing in the center of the spirit fire, my face contorted with both pain and fear—my finger truly ached.

Truthfully, my terror had dulled somewhat. Instead, a gnawing curiosity took hold—why had I attracted such beings? Why had Su Ying ended up like that? Did I really carry the life-blood formation that Chen Chuyi had spoken of?

"Tricks of a petty demon. You’re but a remnant soul—do you think you can stop me?"

A cold voice sounded inches from my face. He stood only half a meter away, his body hissing where the spirit flames licked him, yet he showed no fear. Now, I saw his true face—there wasn’t a patch of whole flesh upon it. His eyes were blood-red, bulging grotesquely, his lower jaw bare, white bone grinning.

I could not help but retreat two steps, my legs trembling uncontrollably.

"Prepare to die!"

A wave of icy air surged toward my forehead. Instantly, my body felt chilled to the core, as if I’d been yanked from a warm bed into a world of snow and ice.

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

I could feel the frigid energy pressing against my brow, trying to invade me, turning to black vapor at the last moment.

The spirit fire around me began to flicker and fade.

In that moment, I heard the little fox’s faint voice:

"Xiaodong, I can’t hold on. If you can still run, turn and dash into the Beauty’s Coffin. Focus every ounce of your will, recite the incantation: Spirits of the underworld, clear the way! You’ll escape this place. Once you’re out, keep moving forward, don’t look back... I hope..."

"Sorceress!"

I shouted desperately—I was utterly alone, on the verge of tears.

As the silver light on my brow dimmed, the great ghost lunged for my shoulder.

Bang!

His hand was flung aside, and I too was knocked backward by the force. By some stroke of fate, I landed just a step away from the Beauty’s Coffin.

Without hesitation, I drew the small peachwood sword, smeared my blood upon it, and struggled to my feet.

Though the cold hadn’t frozen me solid, my movements were sluggish and strained.

The great ghost sneered, and between his bony jaws a blood-red, fleshly sword slowly emerged, reeking so vilely I nearly vomited.

Laboriously, I staggered forward, half-falling toward the coffin.

The ghost grinned, and the fetid, crimson sword shot straight for my brow.

"Go!"

I had no choice but to gamble with my life. I hurled the little peachwood sword at the flesh blade.

To my astonishment, the unremarkable sword, once anointed with my blood, soared with power. It pierced the flesh sword, transformed into a streak of red light, and sliced through the ghost’s conical hat.

At that moment, I tumbled into the Beauty’s Coffin.

Ah!

I tried to steady myself, to focus, to form the sword-finger gesture.

But as I glanced up and saw the ghost’s hat split by my sword, I couldn’t help but cry out—he was so hideous it defied belief.

I swear, in all my years, I had never seen anything so grotesque and revolting...

As the hat shattered, a wave of stench billowed out like a toxic gas. His eyes dropped from his shriveled sockets, his forehead crawling with milky-white maggots, the flesh on his cheeks swelling grotesquely, even his blood-red tongue crawling with wriggling worms.

Yet, despite it all, the great ghost grinned at me, maggots spilling from his gaping mouth.

Not far away, the four fox spirits swayed their hips, sauntering toward me.

What should I do? What should I do?

It was too disgusting!

I immediately lay flat in the coffin, squeezing my eyes shut, forcing my mind to blank, trying not to think of any of it. I focused on the incantation the little fox had taught me.

Spirits of the underworld, clear the way!

Just as I was about to shout the words, a surge of heat washed over me. My eyes flew open, and I saw a phantom standing before me, hefting the coffin’s red lid, which had been knocked aside.