Chapter 73

This is a scream uttered when on the verge of despair, and anyone can hear the panic and unease mixed inside.

When I heard the scream, I instinctively thought it was a spirit causing trouble, but when I lowered my head to look at Mu Langjun curled in the corner, felt the package in my hand, and saw the female ghost still there, I became puzzled.

No one knew what was going on, but I and Yao Yirong involuntarily tightened up. Before coming out, I scattered medicine powder around Mu Langjun to prevent him from escaping. Then I picked up the unconscious Taozi and ran out following Yao Yirong.

Tang Zheng curled up against the wall corner, trembling all over, and tightly held a chair in front of him.

Beside him stood an obese woman, glaring at him with hatred. Even an ordinary person could tell she was a female ghost, because her feet didn't touch the ground.

I instantly wondered what was wrong with Taozi's company—grudge ghosts kept appearing one after another: first Mu Langjun ran in here, then I caught a long-haired female ghost… and now this obese ghost shows up—what kind of trick is this?

"Don't kill me, don't kill me, I know I was wrong," Tang Zheng shrank into the corner trembling, and when he saw me come out, he grabbed at me like a lifeline, crawling desperately toward me.

"Master, quickly, quickly take her!" Tang Zheng pointed at the obese ghost and cried out in fear.

"Well, you've brought reinforcements…" The obese ghost's face filled with sinister malice as she coldly laughed: "No matter how many people come today, Tang Zheng, I will make you pay for your blood debt."

As her words fell, a rolling thunder flashed outside the window, and immediately dark clouds covered the sky; anyone could see the tumbling clouds through the window.

The hall filled with a violent aura that oppressed breathing, and this aura startled me; looking at the female ghost's appearance, she should be an ordinary grudge spirit, so where does such soaring killing energy come from?

Of course, her killing intent pales compared to that of armored soldier spirits or Master Yutai's ancestor, but I still dare not be careless, since I lack the cultivation of Patriarch Yutai.

I set Taozi down, had Yao Yirong and Fang Zheng carefully look after her, then took out the few talismans I had and cautiously guarded against the obese ghost.

But the obese ghost's ferocity exceeded my expectations; nobody held out for even five minutes, and she didn't let me utter a pleasantry—she immediately lowered her body and charged at me.

"Yin Sha Chong Shen"—I gasped in surprise and quickly stepped back. This alternative attack is a method grudge spirits use against ordinary people: they launch their own soul body straight at the opponent, aiming to extinguish the three lamps on the person's body via aura interference; though not as horrifying as tearing and biting, its cruelty far exceeds ordinary means.

When I could retreat no further, I instantly performed a lazy donkey roll to evade, and while lowering my body I stuck the talisman on the back of my hand; during the roll, without thinking, I swept it backward.

The obese ghost let out a piercing wail, injured by the talisman, and emitted a foul black smoke from her body. But her resentment was too heavy, her tenacity comparable to Mu Langjun's; though the talisman is strong, it couldn't inflict much damage on her.

Seeing her rush at me recklessly while my talismans were used up one after another, in desperation I employed the Thousand Pound Drop martial technique that Fan Tiansheng taught me before he left.

No sooner said than done—just as I chanted the formula and readied the Thousand Pound Drop, the female ghost's body was already less than a centimeter from me.

I took advantage of the momentum to fall down, then, under her astonished gaze, I swept my leg along the ground to draw a circle.

The Yin Mountain Thousand Pound martial art differs from Yang Qiye's Thousand Pound art; one of its applications resembles the Yin Five Thunder and can be released silently with both feet.

Perhaps my cultivation is too shallow to fully grasp this technique, so its killing power is weak when used, and it does not immobilize ghosts as the legends claim.

However, delaying her for a moment is already enough.

While she was trapped in that small circle, I stood up, drew a Thousand Pound Press flower character on my hand, and struck down at her shoulder.

This is a suppression specifically aimed at spiritual bodies; an ordinary person hit by the Thousand Pound Flower Character is equivalent to being crushed by a thousand-pound boulder until their body can no longer bear the weight, causing tendons and bones to burst and death.

And a ghost experiences the same sensation as a person, except it targets the soul. This method is also one of the Thousand Pound martial arts, called the Thousand Pound Bind, which binds ghosts, not humans.

But unexpectedly, this obese ghost not only has a large build but also strong force. I tried both approaches, yet I couldn't crush her; instead, a rebound force hit my palm, shaking my arm numb. In an instant I switched hands—my remaining left hand drew another Maoshan Heaven-Overturning Seal, and together with my right hand's Thousand Pound Drop I pressed them against her.

Finally, under my suppression, the advantage shifted entirely to me; the female ghost gradually lowered herself, and with another ten minutes I could crush her soul and scatter her spirit.

However, man proposes, heaven disposes; just as I and the female ghost were locked in mutual suppression unable to move, another scene unfolded outside.

What made me sense an abnormality outside was Yao Yirong's scream; when I turned my head, I saw a small boy appear in the field—chubby, likewise floating off the ground, a ghost.

Even more bewildering, Tang Zheng foolishly smiled, following behind the little boy step by step toward the windowsill.

This situation appears to be a bewildering of the mind and spirit.

I silently thought "oh no," and in panic I loosened my grip, almost allowing the ghost bound by the Thousand Pound art to escape; frightened, I reapplied force, daring not to lose focus.

At this moment I finally understood why this obese ghost seemed so hard to deal with: looking at the infant spirit's aura on the boy, it matched the obese ghost's exactly. They are mother and child sharing one soul—indeed, that must be the case.

After a pregnant woman commits suicide, the infant spirit is born, becoming a mother-child shared soul. Such pregnant women also belong to the category of fierce ghosts; a fetus aborted before birth easily becomes a lingering infant spirit due to unresolved resentment. If the mother dies with the child, it's resentment piled upon resentment, not something ordinary means can subdue.

However, this mother-child pair seems to have died not long ago, and their cultivation isn't high; otherwise my situation would be even more dire. Still, though they died recently, they're enough to give me a headache. The mother drags me down desperately while the child runs off to harm people—front wave, back tiger—leaving me stretched thin.

In the dire situation, I could only grit my teeth, take a deep breath, and shout Tang Zheng's name at the top of my lungs, hoping to snap him out of the ghost's bewitchment; but since I'm not his relative, we're not close, and we lack deep feelings, even shouting myself hoarse would have little effect.

Yao Yirong didn't know whether my shouting would help, but she still followed my lead, shouting Fang Zheng's name from behind.

At that moment I felt veins popping on my forehead and a rush of blood surging from my chest to my throat. "Grandpa, you shouldn't just keep shouting—run over and pull him a few times, or fully unleash your violent tendency and kick Fang Zheng a few times; as long as you kick him away so the boy can't lure him off."

But this woman, why won't her tendons reverse at this point?

"Don't just keep shouting—use your hands and feet!" I yelled in desperation.

Yao Yirong froze, then asked in surprise: "It's a ghost, I'm a person—how am I supposed to fight it?"

"Who told you to fight the ghost? Hit Tang Zheng instead!" I shouted, suppressing the obese ghost while enduring the feeling of vomiting blood.

The next scene made me unable to watch; Yao Yirong's reaction was instantaneous—no sooner had I finished speaking than she sprinted to Fang Zheng's side and launched a flying kick at his neck.

With a "pa" sound, Tang Zheng flew backward; I thought his neck must have been sprained.

Even though I'm wary of Yao Yirong's violence in my heart, I must admit her move was truly brilliant. That kick injured Tang Zheng but at least ruined the boy's scheme.

Yao Yirong clapped her hands, lifted her nose and snorted at me proudly: "How about that, miss—this move of mine is pretty, huh?"

Her smug satisfaction earned only my bitter smile—yes, her move was slick, but she forgot that arrogance is a cardinal sin on the battlefield, and behind her still lurks a little boy, who is moreover an infant spirit.

I hadn't even gotten a chance to warn her when, the next second, Yao Yirong paid the price for her carelessness.

A chair flew up from behind and smashed into her neck, knocking her unconscious.

The attacker was naturally that five-year-old infant spirit; after using a table to knock Yao Yirong unconscious, he ran back to Fang Zheng, gave an eerie smile, and once again silently bewildered Tang Zheng without a sound.

The bewildered Tang Zheng was like a puppet deprived of reason, stepping one by one after the infant spirit toward the open windowsill.

The situation again looked grim: two people unconscious in the field, one unable to move, and another bewitched by a ghost heading for the windowsill; if not rescued soon, they'd soon be lured to jump from the building.

Yet I dare not loosen my grip, for if I release the obese ghost to save Tang Zheng, there's no guarantee she won't attack the unconscious Yao sisters.

What should I do? What exactly should I do?