Chapter 157

158. Chapter 158: Ghost Runner

The ghost runner spoke, his pair of hollow eye sockets staring at Li Yi, seemingly having already regarded him as an enemy. Behind him, ten government runners holding black water-fire staves, wearing pale, dead-man faces, strode over expressionlessly. Their forms were unstable, as if a gust of cold wind had blown past.

"You are different from other ghosts; you have your own consciousness? What did you mean by that just now—'ghosts and gods collecting lifespans'? Does that mean the lifespans you ghosts extract from the living are all handed over to the ghosts and gods behind you? What kind of ghost or god is so evil that it collects the lifespans of a city's commoners every month to supply itself?" Li Yi narrowed his eyes, not fearing this ghost runner.

He held the knife-coins and had the enhancement of the Guidance Technique; he might not be unable to fight these ghosts.

"Kill this mortal." The ghost runner did not answer Li Yi's question but instead issued the order to execute him in that hoarse voice.

The next moment, those ten government runners holding water-fire staves immediately pounced out. Ferocious expressions appeared on their pale faces, and their pairs of hollow eye sockets stared fixedly at Li Yi, regarding him as an enemy. Subsequently, the ghost runners swung the water-fire staves in their hands and struck fiercely at Li Yi.

"You evil demons and monsters, aiding the tyrant in his evil deeds and stealing the lifespans of the living, you deserve to die." Li Yi shouted, channeled the force in his feet, and his tall, sturdy body instantly killed its way toward the nearest runner.

He dodged the unstable water-fire staff and smashed a fist radiating brilliant light directly onto the ghost runner's head.

Instantly.

The ghost runner's head was smashed open, turning into a headless ghost, and then, after twitching a few times, it collapsed to the ground. Finally, its body rapidly dissipated, turning into a stream of black yin energy that merged into this world, dying completely.

Killing a ghost with one punch.

Such a scene was unprecedented. The remaining few runners were instantly stunned, seemingly smelling a crisis on Li Yi, and for a moment, they all stopped their steps, not daring to come forward.

The leading ghost runner's livid face revealed a hint of shock: "You... you can actually deal with ghosts?"

"Could it be that you've killed so many people that you've mistaken me for a soft persimmon to squeeze? Stop talking nonsense; today I will execute you ghost things all together, to save you from aiding the tyrant in the future." Li Yi shouted loudly, then bypassed these runners and killed his way toward this ghost runner.

The livid-faced ghost runner was gloomy all over. Seeing that Li Yi, a living person, dared to oppose him, he could not help but be furious. He drew the ghost-headed saber from his waist, and immediately, a cold wind rose, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop. He then swung the unreal saber in his hand and immediately slashed toward Li Yi.

At this moment, Li Yi's spiritual perception gave a warning.

The ghost-headed saber in the ghost runner's hand seemed to pose a great threat to him. If he were slashed by it, he might suffer heavy injuries, and this kind of heavy injury was different from physical injury; in all likelihood, it would be like his master Zhao Ge—his primordial spirit would be damaged.

Relying on his fast reaction and the fact that his glowing vertical pupils could lock onto the ghost runner before him, Li Yi dodged the ghost-headed saber by a hair's breadth and then, seeing his chance, threw a punch.

The ghost runner also seemed to realize that Li Yi's fist was not to be trifled with; frightened, he hurriedly retracted his saber, and then his form drifted, actually flying into mid-air all of a sudden, avoiding Li Yi's attack.

"Attack together, kill this living person."

The ghost runner knew he couldn't take down his opponent, so he was unwilling to risk himself and continued to let the runners under his command take action.

Although these runners had some intelligence, their level of supernatural ability did not seem high. Despite feeling very fearful of Li Yi, under the ghost runner's order, they could not disobey and immediately, with their pale faces, raised their water-fire staves and pounced toward Li Yi.

Li Yi had no choice but to deal with these runners first. He carefully and cautiously dodged the attacks of the water-fire staves, and then, swinging his fists and relying on the powerful energy field brought by the knife-coins and the Guidance Technique, he killed several ghost runners outright. After these runners died, they all turned into yin energy and dissipated in the world, leaving behind only black water-fire staves.

Several runners died in succession, which made the ghost runner watching the battle both shocked and angry. He wished he could swing the ghost-headed saber in his hand to end Li Yi's life, but he was worried that Li Yi's fist would kill him too, so he was timid and did not dare to make a move.

Li Yi had been observing this ghost runner for a long time. He knew that since this ghost runner saw that he was not to be trifled with, he might not dare to come forward and take action; the only way was to try to lure him over.

He hoped this method would work.

Immediately, Li Yi feigned a flaw, deliberately letting a water-fire staff in a runner's hand strike his arm.

A cold and inexplicable stinging pain instantly surged into his heart. He felt that the blood and Qi in his entire arm could not circulate; his meridians felt as if they were blocked, and there was a feeling of weakness, making one want to sit down and have a good rest.

"Is this the feeling of being injured by a ghost?" Li Yi's expression changed slightly, but then he staggered backward, pretending to be unable to withstand the attack.

Seeing this scene, the ghost runner who had been watching the battle in mid-air was overjoyed. Carrying the ghost-headed saber, he charged straight over and slashed down at Li Yi. His speed was extremely fast, as if he wanted to take advantage of the gap while Li Yi was injured to end his life.

But Li Yi was not really unable to beat the runners; he was deliberately pretending to be like this, waiting for exactly this opportunity.

Seeing that the ghost runner had fallen for the trap, Li Yi's vertical eyes glowed, and he suddenly burst into action. Channeling his force, his feet felt like exploding thunder, and his entire person instantly charged up, killing his way out like a fierce beast, and his fist instantly erupted with brilliant light.

To deal with a ghost, the fist does not need to have too much power; it only needs to be fast enough.

As the fist shadow suddenly appeared.

The ghost runner could not react in time and was instantly struck in the chest. He let out a miserable scream and fell from mid-air, crashing heavily to the ground.

Seeing this, Li Yi did not say a word and stuck to him again, throwing four quick punches in succession that landed directly on the ghost runner's limbs.

In the blink of an eye, the ghost runner's arms and legs were smashed off by the glowing fists. This physical damage caused the ghost runner to feel pain, and he began to wail incessantly.

But the ghost runner's ability to withstand blows seemed relatively strong; even like this, he had not died. Instead, the surrounding yin energy gathered, and there were faint traces of recovery where his limbs had been broken, which Li Yi found incredible.

Seeing this scene, Li Yi hurriedly pinched the ghost runner's neck with one hand, lifted him up, and then quickly retreated, avoiding the attacks of the surrounding runners.

"All you ghosts stop, or I'll kill him." Li Yi immediately threatened.

"All stop." The livid-faced ghost runner hurriedly roared.

The few remaining runners holding water-fire staves immediately stopped their actions and stood motionless in place.

Subsequently, this livid-faced ghost runner immediately said: "Martial artist, although I don't know what means you used to deal with us, you cannot kill me. I am a runner under the command of the Yin God, responsible for this lifespan collection. If you kill me, Lord Yin God will not let you off."

"Now your life is in my hands; whether I kill you or not depends on me. If you don't want to die, tell me the truth: what are those ghosts that broke into my estate before? Are they collecting the lifespans of the living?" The light in Li Yi's hand shone again, and he pinched the ghost runner's neck fiercely, as if he were ready to crush him to death at any moment.

"No... no, those are Lifespan-Collecting Ghosts. The night of the first day of every month is the time for ghosts and gods to collect lifespans. Everyone must have a portion of their lifespan collected; no one is an exception." The ghost runner was so frightened that his face turned even bluer, and he hurriedly said.

"Is that bamboo used to collect lifespans? Since there is a method to collect, there must be a method to use it. How do you return the lifespan?" Li Yi continued to ask.

"Dying so easily is too cheap for him." Thin Monkey spat at Zhang Ye's corpse.

"Replenish a portion?" Li Yi narrowed his eyes, a fierce light in them: "What do you mean?"

"It is easy to take back the lifespan of the living, but difficult to return it; there is a loss. Every segment the ghost bamboo lights up represents one month of lifespan; a fully lit ghost bamboo is one year of lifespan. But if it is returned, the living person can only increase their lifespan by six months; half must be lost." The ghost runner said.

"So the Lifespan-Collecting Ghost just now took away one month of Rong Niang's lifespan? Even if it is returned, Rong Niang can only get back half a month of lifespan? Is that right?" Li Yi said coldly.

Seeing Li Yi's terrifying gaze, the ghost runner hurriedly said: "You can use the lifespans of others to replenish it; you don't have to be fixated on returning it. There are still many ghost bamboos in the hands of the Lifespan-Collecting Ghosts. You can go and snatch those ghost bamboos that have turned white; one is one year of lifespan, which can increase a living person's lifespan by half a year. You have the ability to kill ghosts and gods; if you secretly snatch some lifespans on the first day of every month, as long as you don't go too far, no one will know."

"So that's how it is. You ghosts and gods rely on eating the lifespans of the living to survive in this world. The lifespans of the people of the Four Seas and Bazhou are forcibly eaten by you until they can only live to fifty." Li Yi was furious after knowing this truth.

The livid-faced ghost runner said in a hoarse voice: "This is the rule for thousands of years; it has been so since ancient times. The Yin God is very powerful, and the ghosts and gods above are even more powerful; no one can resist. If you kill me, the Yin God will investigate and will not spare you; you will die a miserable death. Let me go, and today's matter will be treated as if it never happened. I will give you ten years of lifespan as compensation, how about that?"

"If I let you go, I will be targeted by the Yin God. Killing you is the only way to truly leave no evidence." Li Yi's vertical pupils glowed, the Guidance Technique was used again, and the light on his palm shone brightly.

Under this powerful energy field, the ghost runner let out a miserable scream.

And then, as Li Yi exerted force with his palm, the ghost runner exploded on the spot with a bang, turning into a stream of cold yin energy that drifted into the world.

Once the ghost runner died, the few remaining runners were terrified and hurriedly began to scatter and flee, fearing they would also be killed.

How could Li Yi let these runners go? He quickly rushed up and, relying on the characteristics of the knife-coins, killed all these runners, not letting a single one escape.

"Since I killed the ghost runner today, I might as well go all the way and slaughter these Lifespan-Collecting Ghosts to snatch back the lifespans. Rong Niang, Zhao Qian, Master, and the others have lived in the Four Seas and Bazhou for these years; I don't know how much lifespan has been snatched away. Today, I'll just replenish it all. Instead of letting those Yin Gods have it easy, it's better to make things easier for the people around me."

Thinking of this, Li Yi immediately strode toward the direction of Sanyang City.

But soon.

He remembered something and looked at the ghost-headed saber that had fallen to the ground.

This was the ghost runner's weapon; it hadn't dissipated after death, so it might be useful.

It was just a question of how to pick it up.

This scene reminded Li Yi of the hanging-man spear in his own home, which was also like this—ethereal and unreal, and ordinary people could not touch it.

But if he used the Guidance Technique, he might be able to try.

Thinking of this, Li Yi immediately used the Guidance Technique to guide the cosmic energy within his body. As one of his palms glowed, he reached out and grabbed, and the ghost-headed saber, which had been impossible to touch, was actually held tightly in his hand.

Although he felt a bone-chilling cold, he felt he could withstand the influence of this underworld weapon.

"Very good. With a weapon, it should be more convenient to take action. It just so happens that I still have a Yin Horse in my room; I might as well ride the Yin Horse out, so that I can take action faster."

Li Yi returned to the house and led out a Yin Horse.

Soon.

Accompanied by the sound of a horse's neigh, Li Yi rode the Yin Horse and charged out of the estate with the ghost-headed saber in hand. He charged straight ahead along the way, forcibly knocking aside the wronged souls and fierce ghosts blocking his path, and pounced directly toward those ghosts specifically collecting the lifespans of the living.

Tonight, the world had changed, and the Yin Horse was also extraordinary; it actually carried Li Yi, a living person, and soared into the air, flying several yards off the ground, and its speed was even faster than before—truly miraculous.